The Light in my Darkness
by The Person Under Your Bed
Summary: This is what you get for putting your trust in others. After all, he did keep everything about himself a secret. She showed her unwavering trust in him even though she was beaten and abused in her last relationship. But it seemed like no matter what she did, he wouldn't trust her. Well, the truth is out now. Will she be able to forgive him?
1. Chapter 1

**Ayyyy! You clicked mah storeh! *whispers* I love you. *normal voice* Ok so this story will have a lot of flashbacks so if you're ever confused about anything, feel free to PM me. I also loooooove reviews! *hint hint***

**The song used in the beginning, End This Way by FFDP, and Teen Wolf belong to their rightful owners. YOU HEAR THAT, MA? I OWN NOTHING. **

**OK so now Imma tell you a little more about this story. Derek is an Alpha, but he doesn't have a pack (Erica, Boyd and Isaac are not in this). There is going to be another main character that will be introduced later. I think you guys will like her :3 **

_ Deep inside I know what I am worth_

_ A life on my own_

_ It could have been much worse_

_ But it should have been much better..._

_ I know I'd hurt you, deserted you_

_ And now I see it clear_

_ You pulled me closer, tighter_

_ 'Cause I knew you'd disappear..._

He sat alone upagainst the wall, right under that massive window in his loft. It was storming outside, the powerful rain spattered against the window like bullets but they never made a crack in the glass.

_Bullets.._._ Would be nice._ Derek thought with a sigh as he pulled one leg up and left the other outstretched. How long had he been sitting there in the dark, listening to the rain? How long had he been sitting in silence, not speaking a single to word to anyone? Well... How ever long it was, his tailbone ached from sitting on the hard floor. He ignored the pain. Just like any other physical pain he felt, he ignored it.

However, there was always something he couldn't ignore. He couldn't ignore the psychological pain, the deep ache that had been growing deeper and deeper with every passsing day. He couldn't ignore the memories that flooded with it... He couldn't ignore the anger, or the guilt, or the lies that constantly churned in his heart, mind and soul, the soul he was sure was damned.

"What's even up with that guy?" Derek would always hear people ask. "He looks like he hasn't slept in days... Maybe he's just having a bad day... But wait, isn't that Derek Hale? The guy who's family died in that fire? ... He should just leave. He obviously can't deal with life here..."

He couldn't stand the fact that people always talked aboout him everywhere he went in that damned town. Everyone knew each other; everyone knew about his history. But they didn't know the truth. They didn't know that it was his fault his family perished. They didn't understand that every day of his seemingly useless life, he lived in grief and anguish. And they sure as hell didn't know what he was.

Derek smirked slightly at their ignorance. They all thought they knew everything about him when really, they were missing all of the key details. One of those details: He's a werewolf. But not just a werewolf. An _Alpha_.

Memories of the night he came back to Beacon Hills flooded through his mind. Derek tried pushing them off, he tried to focus on anything that would keep his mind off of the only thing that felt real. But, just like everything else he tried to do, he failed. The memories played through his mind's eye as if he were watching a movie. Everything was so vivid... So _real_.

_The soft crunch of the autumn leaves under his black and white converse sounded with every step he took through the woods. The moon was the only thing that was providing light, but he was able to see well enough, given he was a werewolf and he had the eye sight of a hawk. _

_ Worry had long seeped through his body and mind. When Laura told him she was going back to California to protect the town from a mysterious werewolf that was killing people, Derek immediately objected._

_ "You can't be serious, Laura! You're gonna go back to a place that we are supposed to forget and leave behind, and you're going to hunt down a wolf that is killing people. I can see the last part. You want to protect them, but this isn't our problem anymore. How the hell are we supposed to start new if you go back?" _

_ The older wolf sighed and looked up at her brother. She may have been older, but Derek had at least five inches on her. "Beacon Hills is our home, Derek. No matter how much we try to run from it, it will always be there. As for forgetting about our past, our __lives__, we can't. We can't just act like it didn't happen. Come on, little brother. I know you're smarter than this."_

_ Derek growled lightly and looked off to the side, staring at the wall of the apartment they shared. "This is bullshit. We left that place behind. Why can't you just ignore it and live your life?"_

_ "You know I can't do that! And I know deep down, you want to help them just as much as I do. You're just too afraid to go back to the place that you would call Hell. The truth is, Derek, I don't want to go back either. But I'm still Alpha Hale. It's my job to protect Beacon Hills wether I like it or not. Mom and Dad sure as hell would do this, so why shouldn't I?"_

_ He stared down at his sister, wishing she wouldn't be so damn logical. She was like their uncle in that sense, which really bothered him. He missed Peter... He was his best friend. For a while, Derek blamed him for Paige's death. He figured if they were not so close, he wouldn't have trusted him and allowed him to convince him so easily. But Derek soon realized that it was his own fault that his first love was killed... Not his uncle's. He was the one who agreed to have her bitten. He was the one who snapped her spine. Not his uncle. _

_ "Whatever. Do what you want. But I'm not coming with you. I can't be there..." Derek sighed, shoving his hands in his pants pockets. He would give reason as to why he didn't want to go, but Laura was his Alpha and his older sister. Of course she knew what was going on with him. _

_ Laura's voice dropped low and comforting as she slipped her arms under his and hugged him. "You can't feel bad about this forever, Der... You were young and you were still... Messed up... From what happened with Paige. You didn't know any better."_

_ Derek didn't respond, he didn't even hug her back. All he could think about was the crushing feeling in his chest and the tears that threatened to water his eyes. He kept them back. He wasn't going to let Laura see him tear up... He hadn't cried since his family died and they were on the plane to Brooklyn. He swore to himself then that he wouldn't shed anymore tears. Hales don't cry... _

_ "Derek..." She hugged him tighter. _

_ He sighed lightly then puts his arms around his sister and returned the gesture. "You don't have to worry about me, Laura... I'll be fine. I know that it's all done and over with, so what's the point in dwelling over it anymore... Right?"_

_ She pulled her arms from him and took a step back, smiling slightly. "Yeah. Now I just need you to believe it." _

_ Derek nodded, glanced around the room briefly then looked back at his sister. "Well... You should get going. It's a long way to California."_

He cut himself off there. Thinking about the day his sister left Brooklyn led to him going back to California to find her, which led to finding her...

Derek shook it off and pushed himself up off the floor, feeling that ache in his tailbone escalate to a dull burn. He walked a few feet forward to the desk, relieving the pain. He sighed and looked around the empty loft, save his bed, desk, clothing cabinets in one corner next to the large window and the dark hallway, or hole in the wall really, that led to the kitchen if he were to go left and the bathroom if he were to go right.

The loft felt so... Hollow. Like it were missing something. He knew what it was, but he felt guilty bringing it in. However... Like always... He did it even though he knew it was wrong.

Derek slowly walked up to the nightstand next to his bed and picked up the photo frame he held close to his chest every night. He played a small smile at it, lightly brushing his fingertips over the girl in the photo.

_Florence..._

She was sitting in the front seat of his car, the door open. She smiled happily at the camera, just like always... She was always smiling around him. How he loved that about her. How even though she had been through hell two years prior, Florence was able to get up, dust herself off then run to him and hug him. He wanted more than anything to share all of his secrets with her. Well, he wanted to tell her the truth of what he was. He didn't want to tell her about his past... He wanted to bury that and not let her in on it. He wanted to shield her from it, not let her know that's she's playing with fire. But then... It was wrong. It was wrong to hide all of that from her and he knew it... But he couldn't let her go. He loved her.

Derek smiled a bit more. He may have been alone at the moment, but he knew somewhere in the city, probably at her mother's house considering she didn't live with him and she didn't have her own place yet, Florence, the girl he loved with all of his heart and soul, his _mate_- although she didn't know that- was alive and breathing, full of love and light.

She was his exact counterpart. When Derek looked at her, he saw his world. He saw the person he wanted to spend the rest of his life with. But when he looked in the mirror... He saw the person who would probably break her. He saw the man who would crush her soul... Possibly be the reason she meets an early demise.

But no matter how bad he felt, no matter how guilty he was, he couldn't stay away. He couldn't bring himself to make her leave... He sure as hell couldn't be the reason she felt utter heartbreak. Derek knew deep down that she loved him. He could see it whenever he looked into her eyes, could hear it whenever she told him so.

His heartbeat quickened at the thought of her calling out his name, smiling and laughing.

"The way you make me never ceases to astound me..." Derek mumbled under his breath as he continued to stare at her photo.

A knock came from the door.

His head snapped up to the heavy steel and instinctively went back to the state he was usually in... When she wans't around. His eyes darkened as he set the photo down on the nightstand, and he frowned slightly.

_What do you want now, Scott..._ He thought as he quickly walked up to the door and pulled it open. He was about to growl at whoever was knocking at his door, but he stopped short when he saw no one. A milisecond later, right as he was tilting his head down to check the floor, small arms wrapped around his left thigh and hugged him tightly.

"What the f-"

"Hey! Watch your mouth around my nephew!" He heard a very familiar voice call out to him as she walked down the hall to his door, carrying a small round container in one hand with a plastic bag over it and her purse held in the crook of her arm. 

Derek looked up and saw the very person that brought light to his world. His heartbeat quickened and he smiled. "Florence."

The short brunette, whose hair and clothes were wet from the rain, quickly walked up to him and snaked a single arm around his waist, looking up at him, while her other hand held out the object. Derek didn't even have to ask what it was. He could smell the scent of the cream cheese frosting and red velvet cake. Of course. Of course she would bring a cake on that day of all days... He would just ignore it.

He always thought his sisters were short compared to him... But Florence was _short. _While he stood at 6'1, she came up to his shoulder.

He looked down at the little boy, who was still hugging his thigh. "You must be Colven. Florence told me all about you."

Colven blushed and let go of Derek only to hug his aunt's hips. "Aunee Flower..." The two-year-old giggled, "You alway tell people 'bout me..."

Florence smiled down at her nephew. "Of course I do. You're so cute!" The boy only blushed and smiled more then looked up at Derek.

"Aunee? Is this Cuddly Puppy? Because he doesn't look so cuddly..." the toddler's voice was quiet and shy.

Derek looked up at his girlfriend with a raised eyebrow. Florence only giggled and looked back at him while speaking. "Yes, this is him. But he really is super cuddly."

Colven didn't dare make direct eye contact with him. He only smiled then ran past he and Florence and into the loft, quickly looking around the area. "Wow! Aunee Flower, thi' place is so big! But i's dark in here." The two-year-old expressed his excitement by running up to Derek's bed and running around it a few times before he crawled underneath the desk.

Derek and Florence followed him inside, the short brunette smiling at her nephew's behavior and Derek's expression as he flipped on the light switch, illuminating the loft.

"Oh cheer up, Mister Grumpy Gills. He's two, soon to be three tomorrow."

"I know..." The werewolf responded as he stopped a few feet away from the desk and watched the toddler.

Colven then ran out from under the desk and jumped on Derek, wrapping his arms arround his waist and his legs around his knees.

"Well you sure are hyper... I think I'm going to call you Colt."

"Wha's a colt?" Colven looked back and forth between the two adults.

"A baby horse. They're usually rambunctious and hyper," Florence stated.

"Like you," her boyfriend implied with a slight smirk as he grabbed the boy by his sides then planted him on the ground.

"Colven," Florence spoke up as she pulled a box of crayons and a small notepad out of her purse, "why don't you go sit down at the desk and color?"

The two-year-old smiled and ran up to her, grabbed the crayons and paper then went to the desk. Derek eyed him for a moment before turning to look at the short brunette. "Someone comes prepared."

"I have to... I mean you see how hyper that kid is."

"Yeah..." The werewolf glanced at the plastic bag-covered container in Florence's hand, figuring she had forgot about it. However, just as the universe always seemed to be conspiring against him, she turned her back to him and he heard a series of ruffling noises.

The girl quickly turned and held the cake out to him, a wide smile on her face. "Happy birthday!"

"Florence..."

"Don't you 'Florence' me. I baked this myself, with help from Colven. Now shut up and smile."

He couldn't help it. Well, he could, but seeing that light in her eyes brought out the side of him that no one ever saw, save her. A small smile tugged at his lips and he shook his head, glancing at Colven for a moment.

Derek took the cake and looked down at it. "Thank you, rabbit."

Florence smiled even more at him and giggled, "I'm not a rabbit. I'm a fox."

He walked over to the desk and set the cake down as he spoke, "Ohh." He turned to look at her since she walked up behind him and he placed his hands on her hips, pulling her toward him. "So you're my foxy lady?" 

"Maybe I am," she snaked her arms around his neck, "maybe I'm not. What do you think?"

"What do I think? Oh I don't think... I _know_ that you're mine."

"Is that so?" she tilted her head and stared up at him.

"Mhm. All mine," he mumbled as he leaned his head down and kissed her.

"Eww! Aunee Flower!" Colven exclaimed, shielding his eyes.

The couple broke the kiss, Derek smirking and Florence giggling. "Sorry, kid," he said.

"Tha's gross!"

"We won't do it again," Florence promised, causing the child to slowly remove his hands from his eyes. That's when he remembered the cake. Colven quickly glanced around the loft till his large hazel eyes fell on the very thing he was looking for.

Derek followed his gaze. "You want some?"

The two-year-old smiled happily and jumped in his seat. "Yes! Yes!"

He laughed and nodded. "Alright..." Derek made his way to the kitchen where he picked up two plates, forks and a knife. He then went back to the table and set the plates down, Colven running to his side.

"Hey," he tugged at Derek's shirt, "can I cut it?"

"No, baby, you're too young to handle knives," Florence cut in as she picked him up and put him back in his seat. Derek cut the cake and served a small slice to a very excited Colven.

"... I'm starting to wonder if giving him that is a good idea..." Derek mumbled as he watched the boy tear into the cake, getting frosting all over his face.

"Yeah... He is going to be so much more hyper... But hey, he's a kid," Florence stated with a smile. He nodded and looked at Florence, taking in her features. He could swear she got even more beautiful every time he saw her...

"So, what do you want to do for your birthday?"

"You know I don't celebrate my birthday," he said with a stern voice, although it didn't seem to faze her.

"Oh, what's that? You want to go get dinner and a movie?"

"What? I didn't say that." 

"Hehe, we can do that too," she winked at him.

Derek crossed his arms. "Florence." 

She mimicked him and copied his tone, "Derek."

He rolled his eyes and looked at Colven who had already devoured his cake. "You're not going to let me win this, are you?" he asked as he turned his attention back to his girlfriend.

"Nope."

He sighed and put a hand in his pants pocket. "Fine..."

Florence smiled happily and glomped him. "You act like your birthday is a horrible day." 

"Because it is," he stated bluntly.

"No it isn't. You wanna know why?"

Derek stared down at her and raised his eyebrows.

She kept that brilliant smile as she told him, "Because September 11th, 1991 is the day the love of my life was born."

Warmth spread through his chest like honey. He smiled genuinely at her and picked up her right hand then kissed it before pressing it to his cheek. "I love you..." he mumbled quietly.

Florence held the back of his neck and stood on the tips of her toes, kissing him briefly. "I love you too, Derek."

**Soooo how was it? Should I change anything, add anything? If you have any ideas, or if there are any songs that you feel ties to the story, please tell me! I will be wrapping a lot of songs to the story, for example the one in the beginning (check that song out, by the way. It describes Derek and Florence's relationship and you'll be able to get a good feel of things. Once again, the song was called End This Way by Five Finger Death Punch). Anyway, pleaaaasssseee give me reviews. It helps me out a LOT. You know you wanna :D **


	2. Chapter 2

**Alright, guys, you should know that there will be a lot of sexual referances in this. There will probably be a few chapters that have explicit content too. So if you don't like that type of stuff... Sorry, not sorry! :3**

_ Everybody hurts_

_ Everybody bleeds_

_ Everybody bends to fill a need_

_ Everybody's born with their own curse_

_ And I'm not alone..._

"Alright, Colven, we'll see you later, buddy," Florence spoke to the small child as she set him down in the living room of her mother's house, Derek close behind her, looking around the room cautiously. She sighed to herself, taking a glance at him. _He's always on edge... But why?_ She thought. She wanted to ask him, but she knew she shouldn't. Everytime she tried asking much about him, he shrugged it off easily. Once she tried being persistent. She figured if she kept asking, he would cave and tell her. That, however, was a bad idea.

_I know he's hiding something... But things are so perfect now. I can't mess that up. I can't anger him either... What if he gets too mad like... He... Always did? _

Memories of a man that she loved, one that she _trusted,_ throwing her into a wall before he grabbed her by her hair and smack her flooded her mind. She immediately pushed it off. She shouldn't be thinking of that... _Derek would never hurt me. _She forced a smile for her nephew and boyfriend at an attempt to hide her thoughts.

"Aunnee... Can I go with you?" Colven pouted.

"Uhh...No, baby," she replied as she crouched, "you can't. You shouldn't even be out in the first place, what with the rain. I'll be back soon though, ok?"

The two-year-old nodded slowly, clearly saddened. Florence smiled slightly and kissed his forehead. "Go play with grandma. Your mom will get off of work in a few hours." Colven hugged his aunt and looked up at Derek.

"Bye, Puppy."

Derek frowned slightly with a tilt to his head. "Umm... Bye, kid."

Colven smiled shyly then ran down the hall to his grandmother's room, and Derek soon heard the child's excited greeting to his elder, as well as her happy chuckles at seeing her grandson.

"You ready to go?" Florence asked, gripping his forearm. Derek frowned slightly, hearing an uptick in her heart rate when she touched him. He nodded once, turning to grasp the doorknob, twist it and pull the door open. With a quick step to the side, he gestured for her to step out first, to which she smiled almost shyly and quickly walked out.

"So," she smiled up at him as they walked out to the black Camaro, "where do you want to go?"

"Home," he replied tartly as he walked around to the driver's side of the car, pulling his car keys out of his pocket.

"Oh, come on, Derek! It's your birthday!"

"And your point is?"

"I want to do something special for you."

Derek only stared at her.

"Please?" She dragged out the word with a whine.

He sighed and nodded. "Alright. But you're deciding where we're going."

"Can I drive?" Florence asked happily.

"Fine..."

The short brunette squeaked in excitement and scurried to his side to swipe the keys from his hands. After planting a kiss on his cheek, she jumped into the driver's seat, obviously happy to be clutching the steering wheel. Florence really did love his car, probably more than he did. He, however, loved to see her drive it.

He loved to see her pull the seat up from where he kept it because her legs were much too short to reach the pedals. He loved to see her scream and curse at other drivers when they cut her off. He loved it when she'd tap the steering wheel to the beat of whatever song was playing. He loved it when she rolled down the window for fresh air and the wind blew her hair back, exposing her neck. He also _really_ loved the fact that she just looked so hot driving the Camaro.

Florence jumped in the front seat, started the engine and immediately reached under his chair. Derek spread his legs a little and pushed himself up and back, looking down at her. "What are you doing?"

"Looking for the CDs," she mumbled as she pulled out a thick black fabricated case and put it in her lap to search through it.

"How did you know it was there?"

"I pay attention." She smiled slightly with a quick glance at him before she went back to looking through the CDs. Florence had to admit she didn't really like most of Derek's music, considering metal was a bit too heavy for her, but he did have a few albums that she enjoyed. Her eyes lit up a few CDs later, when she saw Nickelback's Dark Horse album. She quickly pulled it out and inserted it in the stereo, turning up the volume.

"You like Nickelback?" Derek frowned slightly. He never would have thought she'd like that band.

"A few of their songs, yes. Why?"

He was silent for a brief moment as the lead singer began, his voice rough. "Just... Listen to the lyrics."

"Okay..." She was silent as she pulled onto the road, listening to the song.

_-to hit the big screen and shoot a little love scene_

_ If Hollywood had called her she'd be gone before you hollered, come on!_

_ Dirty little lady with the pretty pink thong_

_ Every sugar daddy hittin' on her all night long_

_ Doesn't care about the money, she could be with anybody_

_ Ain't it funny how the honey wanted you all along?_

_ (you naughty thing)_

_ You're ripping up the dance floor, honey!_

_ (you naughty woman)_

_ You shake your ass around for everyone!_

_ (you're such a mover)_

_ I love the way you dance with anybody!_

_ (the way you swing)_

_ And tease them all by sucking on your thumb!_  
_ You're so much cooler when you never pull it out_

_ 'Cus you look so much cuter with something in your mouth_

Florence's expression changed slowly, from happy to awkward. "Oh..."

Derek couldn't help but laugh as he turned down the volume. He found her innocence rather cute. "Let me guess. You've only heard their softer songs like 'Lullaby' or 'I'd Come For You', huh?"

She nodded slowly in response. "What is this song even called?"

"Something In Your Mouth," he stated bluntly.

"Ah."

Derek smirked and changed the CD track to 'I'd Come For You'. "You'd probably like this better."

Florence smiled at him. "I liked the last song."

"Really?"

"Yeah... I liked the beat." She began tapping the steering wheel to the rhythm of the song.

"Hm..." Derek looked out the window, partially paying attention to the music. "So where _are _we going? Or have you even chosen yet?"

"I have," Florence replied, staring straight ahead as they drove through town.

"Yeah? Where?"

"Disneyland!" She exclaimed.

"Florence... I let you drag me out of my loft. I let you drive. But you're pushing it now."

"Oh, shut up. Like I really have money for Disneyland. As to where we're going, that's a surprise."

"Damn it..."

Florence was silent for a moment before her soft lips pulled to a smirk. "And for the record, I know you love it when I drive... I see you staring."

Derek quickly looked at the road. "I don't stare."

"Is that so?"

"Nope. Never."

"So... Not even when I do this?" That grabbed the wolf's attention.

As his eyes snapped back to her, Florence pulled her bra up and her shirt down, exposing the tops of her breasts and her black and blue bra. She then pulled all of her hair to one side, showing off the flawless, creamy skin of her neck and chest with a slight tilt of her head toward her door.

Derek swallowed and looked back at the road. He hated the fact that she was able to turn him on so easily. He hated that she knew him well enough to tease him that way even though they hadn't even had sex before.

He had to admit he did want her. Oh, how he _wanted_ her. But he couldn't allow himself to. He was too afraid he'd lose control of the wolf in him. He was afraid she'd learn the truth. Derek knew it was wrong to keep her in the dark, but he figured the less she knew, the better. But really... How much longer could he keep up with this? He knew sooner or later she would get to him, she would light his fires and there would be no stopping him. He just wished it wouldn't be so.

"Nope." He replied simply.

"Uh huh, sure," Florence mumbled as she stepped on the gas, pulling her shirt back up, much to Derek's relief.

He kept his eyes on the road, realizing that they were on the outskirts of town. "Seriously... Where are we going?"

"I told you, it's a surprise."

He groaned a little and pouted. "Come on, babe..."

"Oh, stop pouting you big baby." She lightly swatted his arm. "We'll be there soon."

Derek only grumbled in respone, looking out the window. "I'm twenty-three, Florence. Not five."

"Yes, and I'm twenty-one. Not three. Your point is?"

"You don't have to act like my birthday is _that _spe-"

"Derek Tyler Hale, if I hear one more negative thing about your birthday comes out of your mouth, I swear..." Florence growled, trailing off.

"You'll what?" Derek smirked. She was silent for a moment, only staring at him. "Yeah, that's what I tho-"

She cut him off by licking his cheek.

Derek stared at her, not really knowing how to respond.

"Shut up," she ordered.

He passed it off and smirked, looking out the window again while wiping his cheek. _We're leaving the city?_

Several moments slowly dragged out as they both sat in silence and they drove at least ten miles out of the city. While Florence was listening to the music, which was on the song "Next Go Round" at that point, Derek was listening to the beat of her heart. He noticed that as the song played on, her pulse quickened.

_She's getting hot... _He realized, seeing her shift in her seat a little. He really did feel... Guilty? for not giving her what she wanted. He also felt bad about the fact that he would probably be the one to take her innocence from her. But in all honesty, something about how she had never been with another man made him want her all the more. Sure, he kind of felt like a creep for feeling that way, but don't we all have our own fetishes?

Derek had always wondered how she could be a twenty-one-year-old virgin, what with her body and looks. He knew that the last guy she was with, Kyle, was a real douche. He hit her several times, most of the time leaving bruises. Although it angered him to think of Kyle hurting her then ordering sex from her, he was amazed he never got very far. Derek remembered the one and only time Florence told him about the time Kyle tried raping her. He was horrified and angered knowing that someone touched her against her will, but he managed to remain calm... Somewhat... And listen to her without going to Kyle's house and ripping his head off- literally.

Now, she was happy as ever. She told him multiple times before that he saved her from Kyle, but he knew deep down that he only pulled her out of the frying pan and into the fire by allowing their relationship to get so deep. It was even worse when she told him just last month that she trusted him with her life. _If only you knew..._

He was actually pretty surprised she would be able to hint at sex with him, once even straddling him and making out with him on his bed. Derek figured that since she was nearly fully raped, she would always be afraid of going to bed with a man. But she just... Wasn't. Yeah, it was a horrifying experience for her, but she somehow managed to put it behind her, something that most women would not be able to do. But, as stated before, Florence was different.

Maybe it was just because she trusted him that much. Maybe she put that much faith in him. After all, she did tell him he was nothing like Kyle, even in the beginning. Kyle was always a but demanding of her, but it got worse as time went on. Derek, however, was nice and polite. He didn't order anything of her. He never hit her, and he only hurt her feelings on a few occasions. That was when she tried to be persistent with asking him more about his life, to which he firmly and quickly shot her down by telling her to "shut the fuck up." Derek, seeing the hurt in her eyes, was quick to apologize and make up for what he said.

And here they are, almost a year down the road, without having many problems at all. Derek was able to make up a short excuse for not having family, telling her that they all moved to Brooklyn several years ago but he was kicked out so he moved back to Beacon Hills. When she asked why he was kicked out, he simply said, "I was a douche."

Florence didn't seem to buy it, but she did accept his answer. She brought it up a few times, but when he was short with his answers, she dropped it. He didn't want to talk about his past. She got that. She only wished he would trust her with information just like she did with him. But we're all different, aren't we?

"Here we are," Florence stated as she parked the car.

Derek leaned forward and looked up at the building, raising an eyebrow. "The bar?" This he could deal with.

"Mhm." She unbuckled her seatbelt, pulled the keys from the ignition and handed them to him before jumping out of the car. Derek shoved the keys and got out, walked around the front of the car and stood by her side.

"Have you ever been to a bar?"

"Nope." She smiled up at him.

"Not even when you turned twenty-one?"

"Uh uh. Why?"

"Just wondering... Well, come on," Derek mumbled as he began walking toward the door.

Even before he got closer to the building, he could hear the sounds of men and woman shouting and laughing as well as some rock song playing on the speakers. Now that he had opened the door and walked inside after Florence, the sounds surrounded him.

Derek looked around and caught a few men eyeing Florence as they walked up to the bar. Although he knew she would never do so much as flirting with another man, he couldn't help but feel protective of her. Derek wrapped an arm around her waist, glaring at one man who was staring too openly.

Florence only giggled at him when they got to the bar and took their seats and Derek had to let go of her waist. "Calm down, Der. They're not going to try anything."

"No?" he asked with raised eyebrows.

"No. They see a big, muscular guy right next to me who looks like he would kill whoever layed a finger on his girl."

"Hm... Well, Florence, some men really are idiots. They'd try anything for a pretty girl," he stated bluntly as he glanced around the area.

"What can I get ya?" the bartender, a man about four inches shorter than Derek with blond hair and grey eyes asked.

"Um... You can start me off with a beer. Florence?" Derek turned to look at her as the bartender pulled a bottle up from the bar and opened it before sliding it to him.

"A beer would be-"

"Hey," he caught the bottle and picked it up, bringing it to his lips, "could you dillute that for her?"

"What? Why?"

"Florence, you and I both know you're a lightweight..." He took a drink from the bottle.

"You think I can't hold my alcohol," she stated, clearly irritated by what he said.

"No. I know you can hold it. I just don't think you'll be able to drink much before getting drunk."

"Oh really? So you don't think I could drink you under the table?" She asked with a raised eyebrow.

Derek chuckled and took another drink of his beer. "I know for a _fact_ that you couldn't."

"Hm. Alright. Hey," Florence called to the bartender, who was already speaking with another man, probably a regular given the two seemed to be pretty at home. The bartender's attention was grabbed fully, however, when Florence spoke to him.

"You decide, miss?" he asked, trying to keep his eyes on hers instead of drifting down to her chest. Derek only rolled his eyes and frowned.

_Hormonal bastards..._

"Yeah. Give me anything stronger than what he has," she said with a smirk.

The bartender smiled and poured her a shot of whiskey. Derek raised an eyebrow and set his bottle down, watching Florence.

"Are you sure...?"

"Derek, relax. It's not like it's going to kill me," she stated as she quickly raised the glass and downed the contents. She shuddered slightly and scrunched her face, but she mostly kept her composure. Derek smirked and tilted his head, taking a swig of his bottle.

"You know what... Gimme a shot."

The next several minutes was spent by the two taking turns at shots, Florence quickly getting tipsy and Derek still completely unfazed by the alcohol.

_She's getting drunk... Well, this'll be fun. _

**Thank you, guys, for the reviews! :D **

**K I know this chapter wasn't as cute, but there will be some adorableness in the future. But for now, we're gonna see some drunk and *cough cough* horny *cough* Florence. Anyway, tell me what you guys think :3 **


	3. Chapter 3

"Hey, let's play pool!" Florence chirped as she sipped her coffee. Derek was happy he was able to convince her to sober up a little because really, they were only there for about thirty minutes and she was already getting to be drunk. Well, she was undoubtably tipsy, but not _drunk._ If she were to get mugged, she sure as hell wouldn't be able to defend herself, but she would still be conscious enough to know to scream for help.

"Finish your coffee first," he said right before he took a drink from the beer he just ordered.

"Aw come on. Why do you get the beer and I get coffee? That's not fair."

"Because I'm not the one who's drunk, and honestly, I want you to be able to think clearly... Well, I know it's a little late for that. But I want you at least conscious."

"I am conscious," she grumbled, taking another sip that marked she had drank half of the cup.

"Yeah, more now than you were before. Not by much though, so go on. Keep drinking," he said, flicking his wrist a little and leaning forward on his elbows on the table they had come to about five minutes prior.

"You act like I shouldn't be drunk. This is a bar, you know."

"Really? I thought this was Disneyland."

Florence's eyes widened and her jaw dropped a little, and she looked around frantically. "Derek!" she grabbed his arm. "When did we get here?!"

He laughed and placed a hand over hers- the one she used to grip his arm- and said, "We're not at Disneyland, Florence.

"But... But you said..."

"I was kidding."

"Oh... Don't do that to me! You'll give me an an- aneur...

"A what?"

"You know that thing where.. A bunch of elephants make your brain go _**kapoosh!**_?" She made an exploding gesture with her hands and head as she described the sound.

"Are you talking about an aneurysm?" Derek asked, slightly confused.

"Yes!" she gripped his arm tighter and pulled him forward so they're faces were only centimeters apart. "An aneurysm!"

He smirked a little and kissed her briefly. "Sure, Florence. Now finish your coffee."

"Aye aye, heichou!" she said, pushing him back to his seat.

"Hey-wha?"

"Hey-cho. God, don't you know Italian?"

"I can tell you that that is not Italian..." Derek mumbled as he brought the bottle up to his lips and took a drink.

"Well, Italian, Swahili, English, it's all the same, eh," she said confidently as she downed half of the remaining coffee in her cup.

"Mhm. And now you're Canadian."

"What?! I'm not Canadian. _You're _Canadian," she leaned forward and poked him in the chest.

"Actually, I'm English... And I think Scottish... Yeah, I'm pretty sure I'm Scottish."

"Oi!" Florence spoke with a Scottish accent and was good at it, surprisingly, "If you're Scottish, teach me how to duggie!"

He really couldn't help but laugh. "Oh my god, Florence..."

"What?"

"You're able to do a Scottish accent that well even when you're drunk." 

"Eh, I'm not _that _drunk. Like if you were to tell me to walk in a straight line, I'd probably have you pick me up and do it for me."

"I don't see how that proves that you're not drunk..."

"That's because it wasn't meant to," she giggled and took a sip of her coffee.

Derek frowned slightly and took a drink of the cold beer he held in his hand, no longer able to tell where her conscious stood.

"Alright then..."

A moment of silent passed by while Florence nursed her coffee. That is, till her eyes randomly watered and she looked at him like a sad child.

"Woah, woah..." worry instantly overswept him and he leaned forward, "What's the matter?"

"My dog died..."

"Your dog? I didn't know you had a dog."

"I don't."

The worry soon diminished and he leaned back. "Then what are you talking about?"

"What am _I_ talking about? I don't know, you tell me!" Her tone was cold and a bit harsh, something he had never heard from her in all of the months of knowing her. She was always so sweet... But then he had never seen her drunk. _Mood swings... Great. _

"Um... You know what? Forget it," he smiled slightly. "Why don't you just finish your coffee, then we'll go play- Oh god, don't cry..."

Florence had tears threatening to break, and her tone had changed from cold and harsh to just sad, "You don't understand... I can't face my mom like this! She's going to smell the alcohol on me and... And..." a tear rolled down her cheek and she put her face in her hands.

"Florence, you're twenty-one years old. I don't think your mom is going to care if you're drunk," he said reassuringly.

"Yes, she will! She's why I didn't go to a bar when I turned twenty-one. She always told me that if I'm drunk, 'Don't even bother coming home.'"

"Well... Then you can come home with me tonight. It'll be ok."

Florence looked up at him and smiled. "Thanks, Der... I love you."

He smiled back and stood, walked around the table to her side and sat next to her, pulled the chair closer to hers and pulled her onto his lap to hug her. "I love you too."

She really was small in size compared to him. When he picked up her hand and kissed it, his fingers could wrap around her entire palm and the back of her hand. Derek did exactly that, causing her to practically melt in his arms. She was content with him; she felt safe.

"I really... _Really..._ love you..." she said as she rested her head on his shoulder, her lips close to the base of his neck. She licked him then lightly blowed on him, causing a shiver to run up spine.

"Florence, I... I love you too..." Derek subconsciously tilted his head back and to the side by a few inches, giving her more of an opening to his neck. When she began to lightly bite him, he closed his eyes and tried to steady his breathing. Did she know how much he was getting off of this? Having her teeth and lips graze over his skin was... Alluring. To what, he didn't want to admit. He knew he shouldn't allow her to go any further. He knew that in her current state, with those mood swings, she could easily get intense sex drive. And, since he was the one she would be looking for, it would be difficult to get her off... But the thing is, he didn't want her off. He wanted to feel her bite him _harder_.

She bit down on him just a little harder before releasing the skin she held between her teeth. He inhaled sharply but lightly, trying not to be too conspicuous, and grasped her hips. Florence, who now seemed... Confident? decided to get more comfortable.

She grasped his hands, pushed them off of her and stood. She then straddled him and wrapped her arms around his neck to lean forward and whisper in his ear, her hot breath on his skin.

"Do you want to know how much I love you?"

Another shiver ran up his spine and his heart rapidly pounded in his chest. "I- I know... I know how much you love me." Derek, unsure where he should put his hands, rested them on her waist.

Florence smiled and nipped his ear. "You sure?"

He nodded quickly in response and swallowed. "Yep."

"Oh... Because I really wanted to show you..." she lowered her head to his neck and lightly licked with the tip of her tongue.

"Florence, no... We're..."

She suddenly bit him again, this time harder than before, causing him to gasp harshly and grip her hips. Florence let go of him to look him in the eyes, which now were beginning to fill with lust...

"You ok there?" she giggled. When his only response was a nod, she tilted her head to the side. "Hm... Call me mean for saying this, but I really want to see you frustrated, Derek."

His eyes widened slightly and he stared at her, disbelieving. Since when was Florence _this _open? Although she had grown much more comfortable around him, she was still a bit shy. So, he was _really _surprised when she began moving her pelvis back and forth on his.

Derek bit back a groan feeling her weight shift on his groin, but he couldn't help but grip her hips tighter and move them ever so slightly.

"You like that?" Florence smiled and did it again, this time gripping the back of his neck.

"Babe... Stop..." he whimpered, feeling himself begin to harden. _Oh God... She's going to feel it..._ And feel it she did.

Florence moaned a little when she felt his hardening member press and move against her core. She tilted her head back so her neck was exposed and tried putting more pressure into her hip movements, proving to be successful.

He knew he needed to get her off. He knew going too far with her would be a mistake, even if he wanted it so _badly..._ If only he could do what was right instead of simply knowing it.

Derek pulled her hips down, desperately trying to put more pressure on himself. She continued moving her hips while she kissed his neck a few times before licking it. He groaned lightly and shut his eyes.

"You need to... Stop..."

"Oh, but you seem to enjoy it. Come on," she licked the rim of his ear and his mouth hung open a little, "let me make you feel good."

"I already feel fine..." he mumbled, trying to find the strength to lift her off of him. However, the only strength he could find was in his hips when he lifted them a little, putting more pressure on his groin.

"I know, but I want you to feel _better_ than that. Let's go, Derek..." she bit his ear lobe and tugged lightly as her arms withdrew from his neck and slowly slid down his chest and abdomen, slipping under his shirt and lightly running a finger on the skin just above his pants.

"But... But... Didn't you want to play pool?" he asked, trying to steady his breathing and calm his rapid heartbeat. At this point, he could hear several other men and women commenting on their current position. Almost all of them were encouraging him. The others... Well they were just wishing they'd get a room already. Honestly, Derek agreed with them. He wanted nothing more than to pick her up and run out of that place.

"I'd much rather do this," she mumbled as she slipped a finger into his pants waistband and slowly pushed her hand down so it was just millimeters above his member.

He swore he lost control of himself. He swore everything he did at this point was not him... It was the burning, raging desire in his entire body that overtook him and controled his actions. Even though he mentally screamed at himself to strop, he just... Couldn't.

Derek jumped up from the seat and held her hips while she quickly wrapped her arms around his neck and clung to him as if her life depended on it. He could hear her heart pounding in her chest as he quickly made his way out of the bar and across the parking lot, barely realizing it was still pouring outside. Florence quickly licked and nipped at his neck, making him even more determined to get her to the car.

He opened the back door and put her in the car, barely taking enough control of his body to not throw her in haste. Derek really was ready to just get in with her and take her there in the parking lot, but... The backseat really was small considering the model of the car and he needed space. _Lots_ of space...

He ran to the driver's side and jumped in only to start the engine and speed down the road. Florence had shifted to the spot right behind him and began massaging his shoulders while lightly licking the outer rim of his ear, making him grip the steering wheel and whimper in frustration.

God, this was going to be a long drive...

**Sorry, I know this chapter was shorter and you guys were expecting some hrmhrm hrm ;) but I gotta get up early and it's already.. 2 a.m ;-; I wanted to get this chapter posted before I went to bed so... Here it is. **

**Tell me your thoughts, opinions and suggestions, they help me out a lot. 'Ight, thanks soooo much for reading. I love you guys! **


	4. Chapter 4

He almost lost control of the car on several accounts, each time the tires either slipped from his reckless driving on the slippery road or the furious desire for her overtook him. The waiting was really getting to him... Just five more minutes and he thought he was going to go insane. Derek had never been more grateful to see the building of his loft when he finally sped up to it, sloppily parked the car and jumped out, only to pull Florence out of the car as well and kiss her feverishly as he ran up to the door.

With Derek carrying her while he ran up the several flights of stairs, Florence broke the kiss and kissed down his jaw to the side of his neck where she licked him and began sucking his skin. He groaned, feeling the tip of her tongue lick him.

_Just one more flight of stairs... Run faster, damn it! Wait, why won't the door open? Fuck! It's jammed __again__! _Derek held her with one arm and pulled the metal bar on the door, trying to open it. He tried several times, only getting it to open by a few inches. With a frustrated growl, he pulled again, this time using all of the strength he could muster. The door flew to the side with a loud bang, making Florence jump in startlement and look at the door.

"Derek?" she quietly mumbled as he ran to the bed, still holding her with only one arm, grabbed one of her wrists and pulled it off of his neck, forcing her to let go of him so he could put her down.

Since she was sitting, he put his knees on either side of her on the bed and pushed her down by her shoulders to quickly lick her neck a few times before smelling her deeply.

Up until that point, Derek thought that his need for her could not get any worse. He was wrong... So wrong. Her scent alone was intoxicating, clouding the little judgement he had left and taking control of him.

She moaned lightly and pushed her head back into the bed so her neck was open and ran her fingers up his back. With the need growing, Derek went up to her mouth and kissed her forcefully, slipping a hand under her shirt to pull it up and off of her, breaking the kiss so the shirt could pass her mouth. He then kissed down her jaw and neck to kiss her chest, all the while pushing a hand under her to unclasp her bra. He heard the small _click_ of the metals of the garment coming undone, and he pulled it off of her to throw it behind him where it landed on the table.

Florence, who had sobered up just a little more, was starting to realize what exactly was going on.

_Wha... Derek? What's... _She blinked a few times, slowly waking up from her drunken state._ What is he... Oh God, that feels good..._

Derek was kneading her left breast while he kissed around the nipple of her right one before taking it into his mouth and gently biting the hardened bud. She gasped and gripped the the fabric of his shirt on his back.

"Derek..." She whispered, causing him to look up at her. What she saw... Was what really woke her up. "Derek, your eyes-!"

_Oh God! _he screamed in his head, looking down and shutting his eyes tightly, trying to get them to fade to their human green color. About two seconds passed and he opened his eyes, blinked a few times then looked back up at her. Given her expression, which was _not _screaming, "Your eyes are burning red!" he knew they were back to their normal color.

"What?" he asked, kissing back up her chest.

"N- nothing..." Florence grabbed him by his shoulders and pulled him up to kiss him. Her kiss was sweet and warm, unlike his. He moaned and exhaled through his nose, still trying to calm himself even in the slightest. In reality, he didn't know what he wanted more. It was either to stop, to protect her innocence and to make sure she doesn't get hurt, or it was he _wanted _to take that from her. He wanted to be the first one she feels inside of her, the first one she climaxes with. He also wanted to be the last.

It wasn't long till he felt her hand pushing down to his pants zipper. His heart rate escalated even further when she slid it down as well as unbutton his pants, lessening the pressure of his hardened member. Florence then worked her hand under his boxers, lightly stroking his penis. He gasped and bit down on his lower lip hard enough to the point where it drew blood.

_Get ahold of yourself, Hale... _Derek told himself, although it really was no use. He couldn't stop himself from pushing his hips forward slightly, causing his length to go against Florence's hand. She squeezed him lightly but he held back a moan.

Neither of them really knew how it happened. All they knew was suddenly, Derek's shirt and pants were off... Actually, they were shreds of fabric on the floor, partially hanging off of the bed. When he next looked at his hands, he found long, sharp and curved claws strong enough to cut through metal. His eyes widened and he slipped his hand under the pillows so she couldn't see the claws, but he still had another hand, which was now gently stroking the side of her neck absent-mindedly.

Somehow, she didn't notice the claws lightly dragging against her skin. All she cared about was him. All she wanted was him. All she could even _think _about was feeling him inside of her, even though she really didn't know what it felt like... Wait...

_Wait... Everyone who's told me about it said it hurts... _Panic soon began seeping into her mind. _It's going to hurt..._

He began biting her neck, harder than he had intended to. Florence let out a yelp and her body tensed. Derek grinned and did it again, this time holding her skin between his teeth and sucking it. She moaned lightly, but not in frustration... No. She was afraid.

Derek could smell the fear on her, and although it should have made him worry for her and stop, it only made his need worse... But why? Why is it that he wanted her _more? _Was it because he felt dominant? Was it because the power that came with being an Alpha made him want her to submit to him, even if she wasn't a wolf? Whatever it was... It was stronger than he was.

"Don't be afraid, rabbit..." he growled into her ear, a small amount of the Alpha mixing with his voice.

"Wha... Derek, are you ok?" she asked quietly, turning her head to the side to look at him, ignoring the pain she felt in her neck where he bit. _His voice..._

Derek did not respond verbally. He only turned her head to the other side so she wasn't looking at him, only the large hole a brick wall, and he licked her neck while he shoved his hand down to her pants.

"D- Derek..." she whimpered. All she could see in that hole in the wall was shadows...

Again, he didn't respond. With a single clawed finger, he tore at the front of her pants and quickly pushed them off of her legs without cutting or nicking her skin at all. The next to go was her underwear, in the same fashion as he pants.

While he tore at her pants, she managed to look down at him. _Wha- are those claws?_

"Y- you tore my clothes... WIth your nails..." she mumbled, disbelieving, as more fear swelled in her chest. She could have swore she could _taste _it, the cold venom of the fear that was etching its way into her heart, making it pound heavily in her ribs.

He grinned... Sinisterly? and looked up at her, tilting his head slightly. "I know."

Finally, all clothing was removed, and he couldn't wait any longer. Derek settled himself over her, taking in the whimpers she let out as she practically trembled under him. God, she was afraid... She understood where he stood in their position. He was the dominant one. She _belonged_ to _him. _

"Der, wait..."

"I'm sorry, Florence," his voice dropped low, "but I can't stop. Not now." She could feel the tip of his penis lightly press into her lips just above her clit, and anticipation and fear held her still. All she could do was stare up at him with widened eyes. "Don't be afraid, rabbit. It's me, Derek... You trust me, don't you?"

She nodded slowly and was able to relax- if only by little- because the truth was: she did trust him. She trusted him with her life. "Yes... I trust you... But... It's going to hurt, isn't it?"

"At first... But it'll get better. I promise," he smiled. He didn't grin, he didn't smirk... He smiled as he tucked a lock of hair behind her ear.

Florence smiled back slightly, feeling the reassurance she needed. Why was she so afraid? She's with the man she loves with all of her heart, the man she trusts.

_It'll be ok... He won't hurt me..._

She really didn't know how wrong she was...

Florence nodded and inhaled, trying to calm herself, even though she knew it was a useless effort. "Alright..." She spread her legs.

He took that as an invitation.

Derek grabbed one of her hands and intertwined his fingers with hers; his other hand moved down to her hip and held it. He slowly began pushing hisself into her, his breath catching when he felt her tightness engulfing him. He heard her whimpering, but he couldn't tell if it was because she was still afraid, if she was feeling pain- well, he _knew_ she was- or if it was because she just wanted him in already. Maybe it was all three. _Yeah... Definitely all of the above, _he decided.

With a quick snap of his hips, he pushed himself into her, making her yelp from the pain, quickly arch her back and pull her hips back. Derek looked down at their hips, his mouth hanging open as he breathed through his mouth. "Florence..."

"Y- yeah?" she gasped, tears forming at the corners of her eyes.

"If it hurts... I'm sorry..."

She stared up at him, even though he wasn't looking at her. She really thought he was going to say, "If it hurts, tell me to stop," but... He didn't. He just said, "I'm sorry." What was that supposed to mean?

_He really meant it when he said he can't stop..._

Derek pulled back, biting back a groan, and held her hip while he pushed back into her. Florence bit her lip harshly and shut her eyes tightly, gripping the bed sheets. "Der-ek..." she whimpered with a shaky voice.

His only response was to push his entire length into her and wait a moment, giving her time to adjust. She exhaled heavily, not realizing she was holding her breath. When that moment was up, he started again, this time using a bit more force.

He wanted to go slow for her... Really, he did. But he just couldn't. He could smell the fear and the lust all over her, and it was messing with his head. He couldn't think straight. All he could do, all he _wanted _was to hear her scream his name, to feel her nails drag down his back.

Derek sat up and spread his legs a bit wider right before he picked up the pace and began thrusting with vigor, earning one of the things he wanted. Florence, who obviously no longer felt pain, only the pleasure of having him inside of her, let out a low moan. Derek couldn't help but grin slightly before he let go of her hand and held her hips with both hands, pulling her hips up to meet his with each thrust.

It wasn't long till Florence began moving her hips to the rhythm of his, just like she would tap out the beat of the song on the steering wheel. She gripped her breasts and let out another moan, her mouth hanging open... And all he could do was watch her. He watched her writhe under him, thrust her hips with his as she felt her own chest. He almost wished she would look at him. He wanted her to look him in the eye so he could see what she was really feeling- other than pleasure. And... She did.

Florence opened her eyes a little and looked into his, only to find them searing crimson. Her eyes widened and held her breath again as she began building up to a climax, not knowing if she should scream from pleasure or fear. Something was not right with him. When she thought she saw claws, the claws she could now feel on her bare skin, she was right. Now that he was staring her in the eye, his red and filled with raw lust, she _knew_ she was right.

"Der- Derek...!" she almost screamed.

He knew what she was seeing. He knew that his eyes were burning red... He knew that his claws were now digging into the backs of her hips while he continued thrusting into her, his breathing short and irregular, causing a mixture of pleasure and pain in her. He wished he could take the latter away... He always wanted to make her first time something that she would feel good about, not something she remembered as painful. But, Derek wouldn't be able to do what he wanted for her... He would never be able to bring her pleasure without pain.

But really, he couldn't feel bad about that at the moment. He couldn't feel _anything_ besides the orgasm he was quickly building up to, as well as Florence.

She stared into his eyes for just a short moment longer before a wave of raw pleasure pounded through her core and sent warm currents throughout her body and she clamped her eyes shut tightly as her mouth snapped open in a harsh gasp, leading to a scream.

He would have grinned, hearing her scream like that, but he couldn't bring himself to. The wolf had overtaken him and continued thrusting, finding himself just millimeters away from the cliff he was about to fall off of.

"Der-" she gasped, "-ek!" she gripped his wrists tightly and arched her back, still feeling her muscles contracting with her orgasm since he continued pounding into her.

He gripped her hips tighter in response, sending his claws in deeper. She was losing strength fast from her release, proving that she didn't have the ability to keep thrusting with him. Derek began moving her hips for her, keeping the vigorous pace that he began with. Actually, he was picking it up to a faster speed... That is till he finally was pushed over that edge, and he felt himself explode inside of her.

Florence felt his hot fluid seep through her body, relishing in the sensation of it. Derek allowed himself to fall forward a bit, letting go of her hips, to hold himself up with his hands on either side of her head. He was not breathing at this point, still thrusting to ride out his climax, even though he was slower and less powerful than before. He still held that dominant air, however, as his eyes were still burning red.

When he was about three fourths of his way out of her, Derek's hips bucked, sending him slamming back into her. With a loud, short scream, her body cringed and her hands quickly pulled down his back, where she dug her nails into his skin without even noticing it.

Derek breathed heavily and stayed where he was. He inhaled through his nose deeply while he remained inside of her, smelling her sweat and sweet fluids as well as the absense of fear that had seemed to melt away... For the most part.

"Florence..." he whispered, pushing some sweaty hair off of her forehead, and gave an open smile while he tried to calm his breathing and pounding heart.

Florence, who had her eyes closed and was breathing heavily, slowly lifted her eyelids to look at him. Fear crept back into her, and she expressed it with her eyes.

"Derek..." she breathed, "Your eyes..."

"I..." he swallowed and continued staring down at her. "I know..."

Although she was afraid, she didn't just stare at him... She slowly brought her hand up to his cheek and smiled slightly before she pulled his face down and kissed him gently.

He kissed her back in the same way; he wasn't brutal or overpowering like he was just moments before. He allowed himself to let go, to relax...

Maybe it would be ok... Maybe her knowing about what he was _wouldn't _be as bad as he thought it would be... But still, she was undoubtably afraidl. He could hear it in her heartbeat, smell it on her. However, she wasn't running from him. She wasn't screaming out for help... She was kissing him.

And really, that allowed showed him that maybe, just _maybe_, he could let her in...

**And, here you go. For those of you who were disturbed by this, I apologize... But come on, bruh. It was in the description. For those of you who did **_**not**_** find this disturbing, gimme five. **

** Anyway, I hope you liked this. Feel free to leave a review, comment, thought, whateva :3 Or you could spam me with photos of Tyler Hoechlin. Both would work well! :D**


	5. Chapter 5

**This will be a flashback chapter, so things should be clearer with Florence.**

** Enjoy :)**

_*One and a half years ago*_

Florence stepped out of the coffee shop holding a frappecinno and turned to the right only to crash into another body, spilling the coffee all over herself and the man.

"O- oh my god! I am so so _so _sorry!" she exclaimed with embarressment and guilt as she looked up at him, her eyes wide.

The guy she bumped into towered over her since she came up to his collarbone. Although the coffee was more on his shirt than hers, he really didn't seem extremely pissed off like she thought he would be. Like she knew Kyle, her boyfriend, would be. He didn't look pleased though with his bold eyebrows together in a frown.

"Uh, no, it's cool," he said, taking a single step back and pulling the shirt away from his chest.

"No, no, no! Here, come here! Let me help you!" she fretted as she searched through her purse and pulled out a few tissues.

"Really, it's ok," he said, obviously irritated.

Florence's expression saddened, but she began wiping his shirt anyway, blushing slightly when she could feel the hard muscles beneath the fabric.

He sighed and glanced around, noticing a man from down the street watching them with an angered expression. _Well doesn't he look happy,_ the man thought sarcastically. He then looked down at Florence, noticing how her hair shined brilliantly in the sunlight. He tilted his head slightly, thinking, _Alright. Since when is a person's hair the first thing I notice about them? _He sighed lightly and kept looking down at her, almost... Enjoying... The feeling of her fingers brushing against his chest. He inhaled through his nose, taking in her sweet, sweet scent...

He stopped himself there. Why the hell was he suddenly captivated by this girl?

She continued wiping his chest with the napkins, bringing herself to look up at him. It was then that she noticed his facial features. When she looked into his eyes, which were a forest green, her breath caught in her throat. Florence didn't notice she had stopped wiping him off and was simply resting her hand on his chest.

The short brunette slowly shifted her eyes to examine the rest of his face, taking in his high cheek bones, freshly-shaved sleek cheeks and thin nose and lips.

"You ok?" he asked.

"Uh... Yeah. I'm fine," she fought back a shy smile, failing horribly and getting dimples.

A small smile crept across his face. "Sure." He glanced down at her chest, finally noticing she had spilled some coffee on herself. "You uh, got some..." he gestured to her shirt.

Florence looked down at her blue tank top, groaning a little. "I just bought this one too..." She sighed and looked back up at him, finally stepping back and removing her hand from his chest. She then tossed the coffee-soaked napkins and her now relatively empty cup into a trashcan a few feet away.

He chuckled and tilted his head slightly. "My turn."

"Your turn?" she asked in confusion.

He slowly reached down to her wrist and led her back into the coffee shop she came out of, looking down the street where he saw that man staring a them right before they stepped inside the small building.. The guy was still standing there, watching them. _What the fuck is up with this guy? _

Derek decided to just ignore it.

"What are you doing...?"

He smiled slightly, taking her to a counter that shelved a few cans of coffee creamer, packets of creamer, napkins and flyers broadcasting upcoming events for the small town, Beacon Hills, they were in. He picked up a napkin and began wiping her shirt as well as the portion of her skin where some coffee spilled. Some traveled down between her breasts, but he wasn't going to go that far. He stopped after pushing his fingers down her shirt about an inch, sending a rush of excitement through her body when she felt his fingers brush against her breasts.

All she could do was stare up at him while he worked at getting the coffee off of her clothing. _Holy mother of God... Since when are men __this__ hot?_

"You know, you're doing a pretty bad job at trying to hide your thoughts," he said with a sly smile. "I see you staring."

Florence blushed deeply, her voice shaky, "Who said I was trying?"

He threw away the napkins and shoved his hands into his pants pockets. "My name's Derek."

"Way to ignore my question, Derek," she said lightly. "I'm Florence."

"Ah, Florence. That's a beautiful name. I like it."

She smiled shyly and looked down, her heart fluttering. "Well..."

A brief silence came between the two until Derek spoke up. "Let me get you another coffee. You know, since you decided to assault me with your original cup."

She laughed and looked up at him. "I did not _assault_ you!"

He rolled his eyes. "Sure you didn't. But what type did you have before? Mocha?"

"Yes... You're not seriously thinking of getting me another one, are you?"

"Of course I am," he said with a smile as he walked to the counter, Florence right behind him.

"Really, you don't have to..."

Derek simply waved her off and ordered another coffee; she huffed and looked around the coffee shop.

He waited till the barista finished blending her coffee and took the cup from her with a, "Thanks," then nudged Florence. "Here."

She smiled and accepted it. "Thank you."

He really couldn't help but smile back at her. "You're welcome, rabbit. Come on, let's go sit down."

As they sat by a table next to an open window, she took a sip of her coffee then tilted her head, setting it down. "'Rabbit?'"

"That's your new nickname," he said casually as he leaned back in his chair, hanging an arm over the back of the chair.

"My new nickname? You say that as if we're going to see each other again," she said with another sip of her drink before lowering the cup again, resting her arm on the table. Derek frowned slightly when he saw a few dark bruises on her wrist.

Eyeing the bruises, he spoke slowly, "I plan on it... But what happened to your wrist? That's a nasty bruise."

"What? Oh! Nothing!" she quickly pulled her wrist under the table. "I just rammed my wrist into the counter when I was.. Uh... Chasing my cat."

He didn't even have to hear the uptick of her heart rate to know she was lying. "Really?" His eyes slowly studied her arms and shoulders, finding more bruises. They must have been older since they were much lighter and smaller.

"Yeah... Hey, uh," her mind raced to find some way to change the subject, "You said you want us to meet again?"

Derek tilted his head slightly. "Yeah."

"Let me give you my phone number..." she mumbled with a blush.

He smiled even though he knew she avoided the subject. "Alright." He pulled his cell phone out of his pocket and created her number as a contact after she read it off to him, saving it as "Rabbit". He showed her the contacct name to which she giggled and shook her head.

"Give me your number so I can come up with a nickname for you."

Just a few moments later, Florence had his contact saved.

"So?" he asked, "What's my contact name?"

"Puppy."

He nearly choked. "Puppy?!"

"Yes!" she beamed. "You're so adorable you're like a puppy!"

"Adorable, huh?"

"Mhm," she smiled shyly at him.

"Well then..."

Neither of them really knew how long they sat there talking, or how important that meeting was. When they finally said there goodbyes, they both had warm feelings in their chests. Derek walked away from the coffee shop smiling, as did Florence... That is till she got home.

"Who the hell was that?" Kyle asked the next day when she walked into his apartment. The smile she had at the coffee shop was gone, replaced with a more circumspect look.

She knew exactly who he was talking about. "Who was who?"

"Don't play dumbass with me, Florence. I saw you with that guy yesterday at the coffee shop. What the fuck were you doing, wiping drinks off of his chest like that?! He was clearly getting off on it, and I know you were too!"

She felt her heart pounding hard in her chest and she backed up, feeling trapped when her back touched the wall. "I- I don't know what you're talking abo-"

Florence was cut off by a hard slap to her face.

"Don't fucking lie to me. Now answer my question. _Who is he?_" When he asked again, his voice was thick with anger and emphasism.

She cupped her cheek with her hand and looked down, tears welling up in her eyes. "His name is Derek," she whispered reluctantly.

Kyle was practically seething. "What did _Derek_ do after he took you into that coffee shop?"

"Nothing... He just bought me another coffee and we sat and talked for a while..." Florence made the wise decision to not mention the fact that Derek was wiping the spilled coffee off of her chest.

"You say that's _nothing?!_" he yelled angrily, grabbing her by her shoulders, pulling her forward then slamming her back into her the wall. She let out a yelp of pain as more tears formed in her eyes.

"Kyle, I'm sorry!" she whimpered. "I-I won't talk to him anymore!"

"You'd better fucking not or I swear, Florence, you're going to regret it." She only nodded in response, to which he slapped her again to make sure he got his point across. With that, he angrily walked into his room and slammed the door, leaving Florence to see herself out.

Just later on that night, after she washed the dishes and returned to her bedroom up the stairs, Florence found a text message waiting for her.

**Puppy: Hey, Rabbit. How've ya been?**

Her gut twisted with inner turmoil. _I told Kyle I wouldn't talk to him anymore... But then how would he know? _Tapping the text box, she typed in her reply.

Derek sat on the spiral staircase of the loft, eagerly awaiting her reply. He couldn't say why he wanted to talk to her so badly... He just did. So when he felt his phone vibrate from the incoming message, he nearly jumped.

**Rabbit: Hi, Puppy :) I'm alright. You?**

** Puppy: I've been better. Take yesterday for instance ;)**

She really couldn't help but smile. Did he really just send her the text wink? The wink that could make anything dirty?

**Rabbit: Haha. Yeah, thanks for wiping off my chest. The spilled coffee was cold.** Her thumb hovered over the send icon, knowing that if Kyle were there to read what she wrote, he'd probably murder her... Literally. _Screw it._

**Puppy: No problem. But I did have something important I wanted to talk to you about..**

_Oh God... _

**Rabbit: Alright...**

** Puppy: About that bruise on your wrist. I know you lied about it, Florence. I saw other bruises on your arms and shoulders. You wanna tell me what those are from? **Anger had already accumulated in him, knowing what those bruises were probably from. He just needed her to say it so he could be sure.

**Rabbit: Heh heh.. I run into a lot of counters.** _Yeah, Florence, like he's going to believe that._

**Puppy: Come on... I think I already know what's going on. But I want to make sure I'm right before I kick anyone's ass.**

Her heartbeat pounded in her chest rapidly as she began fretting. _He knows... Oh my God, he knows...! If Kyle finds out..._

**Rabbit: It's alright, Derek. I'm fine. Don't worry about it. **

** Puppy: So I am right. Who is it? Your parents? A boyfriend?**

** Rabbit: I said it's fine.**

Several long moments passed by and he hadn't messaged back. She not only felt stupid for sending the last text, but she also worried that he didn't really care at all. That is, till her ringtone went off, alerting her from an incoming call.

"Hello?" she asked, already knowing who it was.

"It's not fine, Florence. You know that."

She sighed and sat down on her bed. "Derek..."

"No. Don't. Who is it that's hurting you?" He really did sound concerned... Very concerned. Angry even.

Florence was dead silent, she only stared down at the soft white carpet.

"Florence?"

"It's..." she took a deep breath, trying to clear her thoughts. "It's my boyfriend, Kyle. But it's only happened a few times so it's fine."

"You cannot be serious! He _hurt _you. How is that fine?"

Again, she was silent. She couldn't stop the tears that welled up in her eyes that eventually broke. Florence sniffled, wiping her cheek.

"Are you crying?"

"Maybe..."

She heard him sigh over the phone. "Don't cry, Rabbit... Just promise me you'll put an end to it? Because I can't stand knowing that someone is hurting you."

"Huh... Funny. You actually sound like you care," although her voice was quiet, her tone was bitter.

"Because I do care. I know it's early to say this, but I like you, Florence. You're a sweet girl who doesn't deserve what she's getting."

She couldn't help but smile and nod even though he couldn't see her. "Thank you, Derek. I'll get up to it... To ending it. I'll just... I'll just need some time to think about what to say to him, you know?"

"Yeah... Do you want me to be there? In case he gets pissed off?"

"I know he'll be pissed off. But no. I can handle this myself."

Derek, who was now pacing, sighed lightly and tucked an arm under the one he used to hold the phone up to his ear. "Alright. But call me afterward, ok? I need to know how you're doing."

She smiled slightly. "Maybe we can meet up at some point."

His chest seemed lighter at the thought. "I would love to."

"Right... Anyway, I should be getting to bed. I'm hosting a baby shower tomorrow."

"Who's having the baby?"

"My sister... My mom wasn't too happy about it in the beginning considering my sister is only twenty, but she's warmed up to the idea."

"Well I should hope," he could hear her giggling from his remark and he smiled. "Alright, get some sleep. Good luck... With everything."

"Thanks, Derek. Good night," she said sweetly.

"Night, Rabbit." WIth that, he hung up.

_*Three days later*_

Florence stood before Kyle's apartment door, the nerves in her stomach lurching with anxiety and fear. She knew Derek was right, she knew she needed to break it off with Kyle as soon as possible. She just wished she didn't feel so afraid.

She knocked on the door. "Kyle? It's me. I need to talk to you."

Just a few moments later, he opened the door, a small smirk playing at his lips. "Come on in, babe," he said, stepping aside for her to enter.

She slowly walked in, looking down at her hands. _Breathe. _

Florence took a deep breath in then turned to face him, hearing the door click shut. "Kyle, I know this will come out as something bad, and I'll completely understand if you're angry with me for it, but-"

"You weren't talking to Derek again, were you?" he asked, the smirk gone completely.

"No! I just... I just can't deal with a relationship right now. I... I need some space. Some time alone. I need-"

"You lying bitch," he growled.

"What?"

"I know you're lying, Florence. It's written all over your face. You _were _talking to him again, weren't you?" When she only gaped at him, not knowing how to reply, he raised his voice, "Answer me!"

"Y- yes!" She quivered.

Kyle angrily stalked up to her and grabbed her by her hair, pulling hard, making her yelp in pain. "You think you can just toss me aside so you can go to some other guy? Huh? Do you?!"

"No! That's not it at a-" 

He smacked her hard then pulled her to the couch and pushed her, instanly getting on top of her. "Let me tell you something, babe. You're mine. Got that? _Mine._"

"Kyle, what are you-" her voice was small and extremely shaky.

Once again, he cut her off. But it wasn't because he hit her. It was because he caught her lips with his, kissing her forcefully while his hand worked down to her shorts. Florence tried pushing him off, but he was much heavier than her and she just didn't have the strength.

He unbuttoned and unzipped her shorts, immediately pushing his hand against her core over her underwear. Finally, he broke the kiss to speak. "What I'm doing now? This is something only I'm allowed to do. You got that?"

Tears welled up in her eyes and immediately broke, wetting her cheeks. "P- please, don't!"

"Shut the fuck up! This is the _only _pleasure you'll ever get, do you understand me?! I'm the only one who can give this to you! No one else! Not even _Derek._" His voice was so cold and deadly...

Florence kept trying to push him off, but still, raw fear ate away at her strength, leaving her defenseless. Quickly looking around, she saw the lamp that was being used to illuminate the room. It sat on a small table next to the couch behind her. She didn't even think about it. She knew pushing him off wouldn't work, so she just... Acted.

Quickly reaching out to the lamp and ripping it off of the table, she brought it down as hard as she possibly could on his head, knocking him out cold. Florence immediately pushed him off, sending him rolling to the floor with a thud. She then jumped up, fumbled to button and zip up her shorts.

Florence had never run faster than when she ran out of that apartment.

_*Later that night*_

The short brunette lye curled up on her bed, hugging her pillow tightly as she sobbed uncontrollably. She was grateful her mother and sister went out to buy more baby clothes for her future nephew, knowing she couldn't stand to see anyone at the moment.

She didn't tell them anything. She didn't even call the police. She couldn't tell _anyone._ The raw humiliation of being so defenseless immobalized her, leaving her to be nothing more than just a useless girl, crying alone in her room.

Florence didn't know how long she had been laying there. But when she heard her ringtone go off, she jumped in startlement. Picking up her head, she looked over at the caller I.D.

Puppy.

"I'm sorry, Derek..." she sniffled. _But I can't talk to you right now._ She turned her phone off.

*a few hours later*

Florence had cried herself to sleep at that point. She knew the upcoming morning would renew her pain, but just a few hours of relief was what she needed. But even then, she couldn't get away from the sound of his voice, the feeling of his touch. Every so often, she'd bolt upright in her bed, only to realize she was having a nightmare. She'd lay back down and curl into a tight ball, going over the process again and again till morning finally came.

She woke around six a.m., rubbing the tear crystals from her eyes. At first, everything from the previous night was nothing. But then she remembered... She remembered that it wasn't just a bad dream. It actually _happened._

Her stomach twisted, making her feel sick. More tears pooled her eyes, but she fought them back. _No. I am not going to cry..._ Florence wiped her eyes again and sat up, reaching for her phone. She turned it on only to find three missed calls and a voicemail, all from Derek. With a sigh, she listened to the voicemail:

"Hey, Rabbit. I just wanted to call and see how things were going. Well, I wanted to know if you spoke with What's His Name yet. Call me back, yeah?"

_Yeah... I talked to him..._ She thought as she put her phone down then somehow summoned the strength to push herself off of the bed, out of the warm comforts of her blankets. Florence had to stop herself from falling when she felt dizziness and a wave of a horrid feeling overtake her. She just stopped and breathed in, helping to clear her head, but only by very little.

_Make it through today... _Florence grabbed some clothes and made her way to the shower.

When she left the bathroom about thirty minutes later, she already knew that she should call Derek back. Of all people, she should call him...

"Florence," he exhaled in relief when he answered his phone.

"Hey, Derek," she replied, trying to keep her voice sounding normal.

"You talk to him yet?"

There was a long pause. When she finally spoke up, she failed with trying with her voice.

"Yeah... I did. He uh.. Wasn't too happy about it," her voice broke at the last words.

"Did he hurt you?!"

"I... I'm fine..."

"God damn it, Florence... You're not fine..." he sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose as if he were trying to fight off a headache. "Listen, why don't we meet up today? You sound like you need to talk to someone."

"No, I'm f-"

"I swear to God if you say you're fine one more time..."

She sighed and pushed her hair back. "Alright... Alright. How about the coffee shop?"

"That'd be good. Can you be there within.. I don't know, thirty minutes?"

"Yeah... I will."

He really couldn't help but feel a bit of excitement knowing he was going to see her so soon. "Alright. See yo-"

She hung up. All she wanted was a minute to collect herself.

Just half an hour later, Florence walked up to the coffee shop, hugging her waist as she walked. She noticed a black Camaro, one of her favorite cars on the other side of the relatively empty street, but she couldn't bring herself to dream about driving one like she always did. She couldn't care as much.

When she walked inside, she found Derek in the same position he was in at the same table they sat at when they met. Only this time, he was a bit more reclined, so his legs were spread out under the table a bit more.

_ Well someone looks comfortable,_ she thought as she noticed him sipping from a cup of coffee. Another steaming cup was on the other side of the table, awaiting her. Florence, knowing she wanted to tell him as little as possible, forced a sweet smile.

"Hey," he said as she sat down. "Good morning."

"Good morning, Derek."

"I got you coffee. I figured you'd like yours really sweet so i just had the barista put a bunch of girly shit in it," he said, taking another drink from his cup.

"You were right," she giggled, "Thank you."

Derek soon found himself studying her face, looking for anything that would give off what she was thinking or feeling. He knew that smile she wore so warmly was not genuine. Something was wrong. So wrong.

"What?" she asked, noticing him staring.

"Nothing. I just, uh... I wanted to figure out what you-" the smile he once had for her was gone, replaced by an angered and disbelieving expression.

"What? What is it?" her smile faltered but she kept it up none the less._ He couldn't have figured anything out... There's no bruising! Right...?_

Derek set his cup down and leaned forward, stopping when their faces were only five inches apart. She immediately pulled back, but he grabbed her chin with amazing speed, making her flinch at the sudden contact.

He loosened his grip on her so it was much more gentle as he looked into her eyes. "Easy...," he mumbled, "I'm not going to do anything,"

She only nodded, feeling her heartbeat race.

Derek's eyes drifted down to her cheek, the one Kyle smacked on several accounts, noticing it had very slight discoloration- discoloration only his werewolf eyes could see. Being what he was, Derek was able to pick up on colors that would only blend in with humans' eyesight, and the colors that were apparent to everyone were more vivid to him. So when he observed her cheek, he was seeing something only he could see.

"He hit you again," he growled, able to even smell his scent on her. That pissed him off even more, but he held it back.

"Wha-... No, he-"

"Don't. I can tell."

Florence could only stare at him, fear accumulating in her eyes. The rest of her face was neutral, despite their position.

_So that's where I have to look. Her eyes._

He stared into the hazel orbs intently, watching as all of the fear and pain became apparent. "Tell me what happened, Florence," his voice was still angered.

She only shook her head and closed her eyes, feeling tears forming. He only sighed and forced himself to relax his tone to a warmer, more sensative one. "Florence, please tell me."

Tears leaked down her cheeks and she cried silently, her shoulders and chest shaking. He swore he felt the heartbreak he'd only just recently felt relief from pour back into his chest seeing her cry.

"Florence..." he cupped her cheek with his right hand and gently placed his left hand on hers, caressing her skin with his thumb. "You can tell me. I promise he won't hurt you again."

It took her a long while, so long he worried she wouldn't say anything, but she soon spoke, her voice quiet and small, "I came to his apartment to talk to him, and he got angry... A- and..." a wave of tears gushed from her eyes. "Can we go somewhere more private? Please?"

"Yeah... No problem," he said as he stood from the table and pushed his chair in, going to her side of the table, where he held a hand out to her. She slowly took it, walking close to him as they exited the coffee shop, abandoning their drinks at the table. They crossed the street, going to the black Camaro Florence saw just minutes earlier.

"Th- this is your car?" she asked, staring at it in awe.

"Yeah," he assured, going to the passanger side and opening the door, to which she slowly got in. He left the door open, giving her some air, but she reached out and closed it. Once he was in the driver's seat, he turned to face her. "We can either talk here or I can take you home or to my place."

"Here is fine."

He nodded and sighed, looking out the windshield for a moment before looking back at her. Still crying.

"So... He was angry... What did he do?"

It took her another long moment to reply, but he gave her all the time she needed. "I... He hit me a few times... Then he grabbed my hair, and he threw me on the couch..." even more tears... "A- and... He got on top of me..." her voice was strained, trying to keep even, "And he unbuttoned my pants... Then he started rubbing me." Her voice finally broke, making her sob uncontrollably.

Derek couldn't believe what he heard. It saddened him immensely to see this girl, this girl who should be all smiles and laughs because of happiness, was crying her eyes out because she was abused.

His voice low and angered, "How far did he get?" He really didn't want to ask her that, he didn't want to make her relive those memories, but he needed to.

"Not very far at all... I grabbed the lamp and hit his head really hard with it."

Derek raised his eyebrows slightly. "Oh... Good. He was knocked out?" She simply nodded. "Did you call the police?"

"No..." He immediately pulled his cell phone out of his jacket pocket, unlocking the screen. "Wha- what are you doing?"

"Calling the cops," he stated bluntly.

"No!" she exclaimed, grabbing her forearm.

"Why not?!" She was _not_ protecting him!

"Because I don't want to have to deal with it!" she cried, still gripping his arm. "I don't want to have to sit through hours of court, of telling so many different people about what happened! I just want it to go away..."

Derek stared at her, realizing she wasn't protecting him. She was protecting herself.

He sighed then put his phone on the dashboard. "Alright. I won't call the cops."

"Thank you," she mumbled, lowering her head so her forehead rested on his shoulder, still crying.

Since he was facing her and there was barely a median in the front seat, he carefully pulled her over and onto his lap, where he held her close to his chest. Any other day, she would have blushed uncontrollably, but today was not any other day. All Florence could do was cry into his chest while he had his arms around her, gently rubbing circles into her back.

He could smell his scent all over her, and he hated it. He wanted to rid her of it, get rid of everything that marked he had ever touched her. But... He could have swore the scent was getting stronger... But it wasn't coming from her. _The hell?_

She jolted sharply and Derek's head snapped to the window, when they both heard a man yell her name in anger.

Florence gripped his shirt and stared at the man, her eyes widened in fear. "Kyle..."

He recognized this guy. It was the man who was watching them from down the street from days before... It made sense then. "Kyle."

Kyle walked to the driver's side and opened the door, grabbing her by the arm and pulling her out harshly, but not without Derek jumping out of the car with her.

"Who the fuck are you?!" he spat, gripping her arm tightly.

"Let her go," he seethed, completely ignoring his question.

"I said," Derek stepped up, only leaving only about two feet worth of distance between them, "_let her go.'_"

Kyle snapped. He swung at Derek's face, who swiftly ducked and punched him in the gut. Kyle doubled over a little, pushing Florence aside, and tackled Derek.

"Stop!" she cried, "Please, stop!"

They both ignored her. Derek wrapped an arm around his neck and punched him in the head, but grunted and pulled his arm away when Kyle elbowed him as hard as he could in the ribs. He rolled and pushed himself off the ground, as did Derek, and they continued fighting despite Florence's desperate pleas.

Derek stalked up to him and headbutted him, sending him stumbling backward. He went after him again, grabbing him by the shirt and punching him in the jaw. They both heard a crack, showing that Derek had dislocated his jaw slightly. Kyle yelped in pain, trying to push him off, but he wasn't able. Derek's grip on him was tight.

He punched him in the face again, this time in the cheek bone, making his knees go week. Kyle sunk to the floor, to which Derek got on top of him and continued punching him, practially yelling in anger.

"Derek, please!" Florence had run up behind him, but she kept a few feet distance between them. "Stop!"

He raised his fist for another swing, but stopped himself. She was right. He needed to stop... Derek breathed heavily, looking down at Kyle, who had a swollen eye and bruises on his cheek and jaw. Knowing that Florence was behind him and couldn't see his face, Derek lowered himself and gripped him by the throat tightly. His eyes began buring red and he extended his fangs, baring them with a low, feral growl.

Kyle's eyes widened with fear and was practically shaking under him.

"Leave town. Don't _ever_ come back because I swear I will kill you. Got that?" Derek's voice was so low, Florence couldn't even hear it. She only waited, her hands shaking violently.

He nodded quickly. "I get it!"

His eyes back to their normal color and his fangs gone, Derek punched him in the face again for good measure then stood, looking around at the small groups of people who had stopped but kept their distance. They understood what was going on. Interfering wouldn't help.

Derek turned to Florence, who was still crying and shaking, and walked up to her. "He'll leave you alone now."

She nodded slowly, only able to look up at him.

"Come on," he said, glancing at two other men who had ran by to help Kyle up. "Let's get out of here." She nodded again, slowly making her way back to the car.

Over the next couple of months, Florence found herself falling for the man who fought for her, soon realizing she trusted him. She loved him, and he loved her. It was actually kind of perfect, despite the fact that he spent so many nights staying up late to calm her down, to stop her from shedding tears. One night, he even came to her house.

"So, remind me, why do I have to come in through the window again?" he asked after climbing up the side of the house, hearing the soft music coming from the speakers in her room.

"Because," she stated, wiping the tears away from her eyes, "my mother is insanely protective of me. She thinks she has to play the role of "overly-protective-dad" since he left when I was young."

"Oh... I'm sorry to hear that. So you haven't told her about me?" he asked, crossing his arms.

"It's fine... And no. I would never hear the end of how I can't be with a man since he'd be nothing but trouble." 

Derek raised an eyebrow. "Well shit." 

She smiled slightly and hugged his waist, to which he unfolded his arms and wrapped them around her. "I don't think you're trouble. You saved me..." Florence had to build up the courage to state what she was going to say next, considering she never said that line for the first time first... She knew it was true in her heart, but she couldn't help but worry that he didn't feel the same way.

Her voice was quiet as she muttered, "I love you, Derek."

He felt his heart rate increase significantly, he could hear it. He swallowed and looked down at her, his voice light, "I love you too, Rabbit."

Florence looked up at him and smiled shyly, her worries melting away as she stood on her toes to gently kiss him. As their lips touched, she could hear the lyrics of the song playing.

_-You far?_

_ Will you come to my rescue?_

_ Am I left to die?_

_ But I can't give up on you_

_ I feel you keeping me alive_

_ You are my salvation_

_ Touch you, taste you, feel you here_

_ I feel you keeping me alive_

_ You are my salvation_

_ Hold me, heal me, keep me near_

_ My heart will burn for you_

_ It's all I can do_

Derek, who was obviously also listening to the lyrics, lowered his hands to her waist, beginning to sway his hips. She looked up at him and smiled, taking one of his hands in hers and rested her other on his shoulder.

"I didn't know you liked to dance," she giggled.

Derek lowered his face to hers, his voice low and smooth, "Only when I'm with a pretty girl."

Florence smiled shyly and kissed him, allowing herself to get lost in the kiss while they continued their dance.

_Salvation_

_Salvation_

_(Keeping me alive)_

_Salvation_

_(You're keeping me)_

_Salvation_

_(You're keeping me alive)_

_Been out from under who I am_

_And who I want to be_

_Held you tightly in my hands_

_Why are we unraveling?_

_Was it me?_

_Will you come to my rescue_

_Or did I push to far_

_When I turned my back on you?_

_I feel you keeping me alive_

_You are my salvation_

_Touch you, taste you, feel you here_

_Oh oh, yeah yeah_

_I feel you keeping me alive_

_You are my salvation_

_Hold me, heal me, keep me near_

_Oh oh, yeah yeah_

_My heart will burn for you_

_It's all I can do_

_Salvation_

_Salvation_

_(Keeping me alive)_

_Salvation_

_Touch you, taste you, feel you, need you_

_Give it all just to find you_

_Hold me, heal me_

_I will find you_

_Keeping me alive_

_You are my salvation_

_Touch you, taste you, feel you here_

_Oh oh, yeah yeah_

_Our love will never die_

_You are my salvation_

_Hold me, heal me, keep me near_

_Oh oh, yeah yeah_

_My heart will burn for you_

_It's all I can do_

_Salvation_

_Salvation_

_Touch you, taste you, feel you, need you_

_Salvation_

**Woo, long chapter! Thanks so much for reading, guys. Your continued support is what drives me to write! :)**

**BTW, the song they danced to is "Salvation" by Skillet. You guys should check it out because it's an awesome song. Haha I was listening to it as I wrote that scene**


	6. Chapter 6

When Florence woke, she found herself cold and naked, lying next to none other than Derek Hale, who was also lacking in clothing. Her eyes widened slightly as she sat up, feeling aches throughout her core with a pouding headache.

Derek lye on his stomach with his forearms under the pillow he buried half of his face into and remained asleep despite the shift of weight on the bed. She stared down at him, her eyes still wide, as her mind raced for... Anything. She couldn't really think straight with that damned headache.

_Oh my god... WHAT?! WHEN DID THIS HAPPEN?!_ She shifted slightly, feeling uncomfortable. It's not that she didn't want to be with Derek... It just freaked her out how she couldn't remember much of anything.

_The last thing I remember is taking shots with him at the bar... Wait... Is that how this happened? _She couldn't help but facepalm- which she soon realized was a horrible idea- sending thuds of pain throughout her head. She fought back a groan, trying not to make any noise so she wouldn't wake the sleeping man next to her. She'd always known he was a light sleeper considering they'd napped together on several accounts, each time she shifted he would also. But this time, he barely moved.

_He must be in a pretty deep sleep, then... God... What time is it?_ she thought as she slowly turned her head to the bedside table where she found a small digital clock. The red digits read: 8 a.m.

Florence sighed lightly and leaned forward, rested her elbows on her knees and put her face in her hands. _I shouldn't have gotten drunk... That was so stupid of me. Mom is going to kill me when I get home. I bet she's already blown up my phone... _She swallowed and clenched her jaw slightly, picking up her head to look out the huge window. The storm had calmed down to a drizzle, keeping the skies dark, and providing little light in the loft. She didn't have problems seeing obvious things about the room, such as the desk, the spiral staircase... Derek... And the clothes that littered the floor.

She stood slowly, not having to push any sheets off of her body since the blankets were never pulled back. The short brunette carefully took a few steps forward toward the clothes and kneeled to look through them, finding her cell phone in her jeans as well as several tears in the fabrics. Her first assumption was they got caught on something sharp, but she quickly shot the idea down. How would their jeans, as well as their _underwear_, be torn as if someone took a knife to them? The tears weren't just tears, either... They really did look like a wild animal got to them. _An animal..._

It wasn't the first time she found tears in her clothes. On rare occasions, she'd find small cuts in her jeans, usually around her knees where Derek would place his hand while driving. _It's always with Derek..._

Shaking her head lightly, she unlocked her phone only to find five text messages as well as five missed calls from none other than her overprotective mother. There was only one text from her sister, London.

**London: When will you be home? Colven misses you. **

Florence skipped to the next several messages.

**Mom: Are you going to be home soon? **

** Mom: Florence?**

** Mom: It's 3 a.m. and you're still not home. I'm getting worried...**

** Mom: Florence, if you don't respond within the next half hour, I'm calling the cops.**

** Mom: Called the cops. **

Florence's eyes widened as she read the fourth message. _You would, Mom..._

**Florence: I'm sorry I didn't respond earlier. I went out with a friend last night and I crashed at their place. You didn't really call the cops, did you?**

She kept her phone in her hand while she picked up the clothes and put them on the desk where she found her bra, half-hanging off the edge. She looked around the room briefly, grateful to see that Derek was still sleeping. She wasn't so grateful, however, to see the loft door opened wide. Memories of the previous night slowly came to her as she trotted silently from the desk to a cabinet where she knew he kept his clothes.

She remembered... Hearing the loft door bang as it flew to the side... And Derek was carrying her to the bed... She blinked several times and rubbed her eyes before quietly opening the cabinet and pulling some light grey sweat pants- obviously too big for her- and a black tank top out to take to the bathroom.

As she quickly padded past the bed, keeping her eyes on Derek only to tear her gaze to where she was going- and walked through the giant hole in the wall that she knew led to a bathroom of some sort. It was even darker, so dark she could barely see three feet in front of her. Florence unlocked her phone and used it as a flashlight, finding it easier to navigate her way through the dark hallway. Within a few seconds, she turned right and found the washroom. She flipped on the lightswitch, immediately shielding her eyes when the light entered her widened pupils.

It wasn't much at all. In the upper right corner, there was an open shower with a high showerhead, one that easily came above Derek. On the entire left side, save a square space for the toilet, there was a metal counter shelving a stack of white towels with a large mirror. Walking to the counter with a shiver from the cold, she set the clothes she borrowed and her cell phone down. She then looked in the mirror and her eyes grew wide.

Florence found five gashes on both hips, maybe half a centimeter deep. Her heart rate picked up in a little fear, and more memories came back to her.

She saw Derek rip her clothes off- literally- with what she was sure were claws. But... How could he have claws? Florence kept staring at the gashes, seeing how they were dark red since the wounds had clotted with blood and dried to stop the bleeding... The color was not like fresh blood. Red...

_Red... Why does red seem like it should mean- _She frowned, not believing what she remembered. _His eyes were burning red... But... It all must have been a dream. A crazy, sexual dream. Maybe I'm still dreaming. Yeah, I'm still dreaming... But just to make sure..._ Florence looked down at her fingers and counted to ten, never faltering. _I'm not dreaming..._

She didn't know how long she stood there before she finally stopped staring at her fingers and went to the shower and turned it on. Cold water immediately sprang out from the showerhead and she jumped back, feeling the cold on her leg. Florence adjusted the water to a hot temperature and stepped under it, shuddering lightly when she felt the liquid pour over her aching body.

She faced the wall and closed her eyes, still seeing the memories coming back to her. Florence swallowed, not sure if she should blame the alcohol for what she remembered. Honestly, she wished she could. She wished she could say that what she was seeing was because of her drunken state, but she couldn't. It was just... Too real.

_It's not like a dream... It seems so real... How else would you explain the claw marks? Was I right all along?_ She kept thinking, kept trying to remember, but all she got was Derek's claws, his eyes burning red, and a few foggy, brief moments of him thrusting into her...

Her heart beat quickened at the thought of the latter. Although she could barely remember it, she remembered the sensation that came with it. But still, she couldn't shake the feeling of how... Wrong? it felt, and that feeling could only escalate as she thought about what exactly happened.

_I was drunk... And he... He... He took that from me... _Tears slowly began welling up in her hazel eyes. _The last time we got close... He told me we couldn't... But when I was drunk... He promised he wasn't like Kyle... He promised..._ A tear rolled down her cheek and she wrapped her arms around herself, suddenly feeling uncomforble showering in an open washroom in Derek's loft, knowing that he lay asleep, naked from what they... He... Did with her in his bed.

Florence hung her head by a little, allowing the hot water to run down her neck. She was starting to calm herself down, not wanting to cry.

"God," she mumbled, "why did you have to make me so emotional in the mornings?"

She jumped and gasped, quickly turning around when she felt hands lightly grip her shoulders and a warm body right behind her as he kissed her neck ever-so-slightly. "Because he knew it wouldn't be you otherwise."

She looked up at him, her eyes widened slightly. "Der..."

He smiled slightly and kissed her forehead. "Good morning, rabbit."

Florence forced herself to smile back at him as she turned so her front was facing him. She cautiouslly wrapped her arms around his waist, as if she were trying to go near a dangerous animal.

Ha. How ironic.

"Are you ok?" he mumbled, his voice low and smooth as it mixed with the sound of the water.

She nodded quickly. "Yeah. I'm alright."

He could hear her heart pounding in her chest.

"No... You're not."

_Once again, he's able to see right through me..._

Derek began lightly rubbing his hands on her hips, making her gasp in pain. "Woah, what's the-" he cut himself off when he saw the cuts on her hips, and his eyebrows came together in a saddened frown as his mouth hung open slightly.

The horrible memories of Kyle hurting her then ordering her to swear silence rushed back to her, forcing her to react the only way she knew how. Florence quickly stepped back, putting her hands out in front of her. "P- please... Don't hurt me. I-I won't tell anyone! I swear!"

He stared at her disbelievingly. Florence, his Florence... Was staring at him in fear. "Babe, I'm not gonna hurt you..." he took a small step forward.

"That's exactly what he said," she whimpered with terror in her eyes, taking another step back.

An ache as well as anger swept through his chest seeing her back down like that... She thought that he was the same as a man who abused her. "Florence, I am _not_ Kyle. It's me. _Me_! Derek... I won't hurt you..." He took another step forward, making her step back again, desperate to keep space between them.

She shivered when her skin came in contact with the cold tile of the wall. "How do I know it's _just _you?!"

"What...?" He shifted his weight forward, signifying he was going to move closer.

"Stay away from me, damn it!"

He stopped. "Alright, Florence," his voice was soothing and warm, "I'll keep my distance... But please, listen to me. I love you. Do you get that? _I_ _love you. _I- I wouldn't... I wouldn't hurt you..." His voice dropped so low she could barely hear it, "Deliberately."

Her voice was small and weak, something he hadn't heard from her in so long... Not since she told him about Kyle. "But... Derek, I was drunk... A- and- you... You..." her entire body was shaking.

A huge wave of guilt hit him in the chest with a powerful blow. Honestly, he thought something had literally hit him since it sent him back a step. "Florence... I am _so _sorry," the emotional stress he had been trying so hard to keep down was flooding to the surface. He couldn't stand seeing her this hurt, especially over something that serious because of _him_. "If I could take it back-"

"Don't say that!" she cut him off, her voice gaining a bit of strength. "It's not that I didn't want to do that with you, Derek... It's just the way it happened... And... I swear," she looked to the wet tile floor and her voice dropped to a tone inaudible to human hearing, "I saw things..."

Derek's heart leaped into his mouth. "You saw what?"

"You wouldn't believe me," she whispered.

"You'd be surprised of what I believe..."

Her eyes slowly inched up, looking him up and down. _How the hell is he able to hear me when my voice is so quiet...? _ She adjusted her arms around herself, remembering that they were both completely naked... "I- I... I thought you..." she sighed and lowered her gaze again. "When I woke up this morning, I found our clothes torn to shreds... Derek, last night I could have swore I saw you with claws."

His heart was pounding in his chest, but he couldn't move. He could only stare at her in horror. What he wanted to keep from her was being dragged out into the open where she would just stumble across it and fall. Now all he could do was hope and pray that he would be able to catch her.

"And... Your eyes... They were red. Like, searing crimson, red..." When he only continued staring at her, she sighed and shook her head lightly. "I knew you wouldn't believe me... You probably think I'm crazy."

Still, he couldn't say anything. _Fuck... She's so suspicious..._

All he could do was turn toward the counter, slowly walk away from the shower and grab a towel, wrapping it around his hips before he began walking toward the bathoom exit.

"Wh- where are you going?" she nearly cried, taking a step after him but stopping herself.

"I... I think we both need a few minutes to ourselves... To think. I'm going to go get dressed. When you're ready, come on out and we can talk." He said quietly then left from the bathroom and went to find some clothes.

Florence could only sink back to the wall, her mind racing. _Why didn't he object to what I just told him? Does he believe me? Does... Does this mean I was right the whole time? About there being something different about him? ... I don't believe it, myself. But then... I __do.__ Was I right as a child when I believed mythical creatures could exist?_

Although the visions of red eyes clouded her mind and thoughts swirled in her head, she made sure she finished her shower, hoping it could help calm her. She washed her hair and body with Derek's shampoo and body wash, taking in the scent that she loved so much.

She never understood what it meant to love someone's scent up until she and Derek got together. Other than that, she didn't care much for others' scents. His was the only one that could calm her down when she was upset... Even now.

Florence inhaled deeply through her nose and instantly relaxed, if only by a little. She rinsed then shut off the water, went to the counter, grabbed a towel and dried herself off as she checked her phone. No messages. _Mom must be asleep... _

In her mind, now that she had taken a moment to collect herself and calm down, she was prepared to walk out of the washroom and face Derek. She just wished her body was. All she could really do was get dressed- taking care not to put much pressure on the wounds on her hips- and wish her underwear was not torn and her bra was not still sitting on the table. She sighed and shook her hair out, looking in the mirror. 

_Just go talk to him... Try to make sense of this. This... This is Derek I'm thinking about... Derek. Not Kyle... I'm sure whatever happened last night wasn't his fault... It was probably the alcohol. Yeah. Wait. No. How could he have driven home without crashing in that heavy rain? _

Florence sighed and rubbed her face. _It doesn't matter... I just need to talk to him. _

Once clothed in dark jeans and a mid-sleeve black and grey shirt, Derek paced quickly in front of the desk, his heartbeat rapid. _Oh my god, this is actually happening. She's finding out... Florence is a smart girl. She was going to find out sooner or later... __Fuck__ I am such an __idiot__! _He let out a small growl, mentally punching himself in the face. _I should tell her. No. I shouldn't. Yes, I should. NO! I can't! But... I have to. After what happened last night, after seeing what she saw, she should know. Or... I could just come up with some excuse... But then how would you explain those claw marks? _Another ton of guilt weighed down his shoulders when he remembered the claw marks. The guilt got even heavier when he remembered digging his claws into her hips...

"God, Florence," he kept pacing, but he slowed down and put his head in his hands, "I'm so sorry..."

"You don't have to apologize," she mumbled, causing Derek's head to snap in her direction, warily walking closer to the bed. "I... I think I understand..."

Derek immediately started walking toward her but he stopped dead in his tracks when she took a step back, her hands going up to about her lower torso defensively. She would have put them up more, but she stopped herself. _Stay calm... It's Derek, not Kyle. _

Although he felt his heart shatter from seeing her back away from him, he stepped away to the table and sat on it. "You do? What do you think happened?" His voice was low and even, knowing that he needed to be calm to keep her calm.

"I... I don't _know... _But then I feel as if I do. For one, what we did last night-"

"You were drunk. I shouldn't ha-"

"Don't cut me off. Not now. You asked me what I thought I understood, so I'm going to elaborate... I need to." When he only stared at her, waiting for her to go on, she continued, "What happened last night... I don't regret. Derek, I trust you more than anyone in the whole world. You took care of me after... You know... And you made sure I was able to live again. You made sure I was happy and honestly, I am happy. I'm happier than I've ever been in my entire life. But I saw some things last night. Things I don't completely get. Maybe it was just the alcohol... But that doesn't explain these." She gestured to her hips. "I don't know why I saw your eyes turn red, or why I thought you had claws... But something tells me I didn't see that because I was drunk."

Derek kept staring at her, not knowing what to say. All he could do was listen to his own pounding heartbeat and try to sort out his thoughts. _I can't keep her in the dark forever... I should just walk away now, but... How could I do that to her? After what she just told me? She has so much trust in me, she sees me as a hero. How could I just break her heart like that? I... I need to tell her. _

"Please say something," she whispered, almost pleading.

"I-I'm sorry... I just.. I'm trying to figure out how to say this," he looked down at the pulsing veins in his hands, swallowing.

"How to- How to say what?"

Once again, a long silence.

_ Beat-beat, beat-beat, beat-beat..._

Finally, "Florence... I..." He sighed and rubbed both sides of his nose with his thumbs under his jaw, "You should sit down."

She frowned slightly but made her way to the bed, noticing blotches of blood on the blankets. Florence did her best to ignore them, looking back at Derek. "Alright. Now what is it?"

Derek rested his hands in his lap, keeping his head down. He knew if he were to try to say what he was going to tell her while looking her in the eye, he'd fail. "The reason why you have those wounds on your hips... Why you saw my eyes red... I... It's.. It's because I'm not the same."

_So it __wasn't__ the alcohol... _"What do you mean?" she asked with a slight tilt to her head, her voice quiet.

"I mean," he looked up at her, "I'm not human, Florence."

_I knew it... _She stared at him questioningly. "Then... _What_ are you?"

"I'm..." he glanced out the window, wishing he didn't have to continue, "Please don't call me insane."

"I won't call you insane... Now tell me."

Derek looked back at her, finding her with an intent stare.

"I'm a wolf, Florence."

She raised her eyebrows. Not the answer she was expecting, but then... She really wasn't expecting anything because she didn't have a clue. "A wolf... As in a werewolf... Right." 

He huffed and stood, walking toward the staircase by a few feet, "I knew you wouldn't believe me," and turned back to her. "It's alright if you call me insane. I understand."

"No! No... I don't think you're insane... I just... Believe you."

"You do? Seriously?" He asked incredulously, earning a slow nod from her. "How?"

"As a kid, I always believed myths could be true. I didn't know which ones, but I knew that at least _one_ of them were real. So... It's not hard for me to believe that someone is a werewolf. That someone being you is kind of hard to swallow... But... It makes sense..."

He couldn't believe it. She was just taking all of it in as if someone told her about their day!

"What do you mean it makes sense?"

"Well, your eyes for one. They turned _red,_ Derek. Two, you had claws... And there are puncture wounds on my hips about the width of the last knuckle of my pinky. If they were much slimmer, I'd say you just need to trim your nails... But they're not. Our clothes are _shredded. _So... It proves you had claws..." Florence trailed off, staring at his hands.

He swallowed again, watching her. "How are you able to accept this so easily?"

"Can I be honest with you?"

"Of course."

A very slight blush crept across her face, not going unnoticed by Derek. "I have this thing for werewolves..."

He raised an eyebrow. "_Thing?_"

"Yeah... I mean I loved Twili-"

"Oh, Florence, no!" he cried, raw embarrassment all over his face. "Please, don't tell me you swoon over the wannabe werewolf in that damned chick flick!"

"Ay! Don't make fun of my baby!" Florence shot back, standing.

"Your _baby?!_" His voice had never been more incredulous.

"Yeah! Jacob is my baby, man! He's so ad-" she cut herself off, noticing the jealousy that was written all over his face. She really couldn't help but smile. "Oh, stop. You know _you're _my one and only."

_Your one and only..._ Pure relief washed over him and stared at her, silent for a moment before he spoke up, "Even after..."

"Even after?"

"Even after what I did..." 

She frowned slightly. "Der, it's not like I'm some random chick that you picked up off of the street because she was drunk... I'm your girlfriend. So we had sex... It happens."

"So it doesn't bother you at all that I took your virginity while you were drunk," it was more of a statement than a question.

"A little... But not as much as it would if it were anyone else. I just wish I could remember more of it."

"More than just my eyes burning red with claws digging into your hips."

"Yeah..." she whispered.

For a long while, they stood there in silence, observing each other. While Derek was searching her for signs of what she was feeling, she was looking for signs of him being a werewolf.

_Now that I think of it... He __does__ look like he could be one. He has the build..._

_What is she thinking? She's just watching me, so it's hard to tell... Her heartbeat is even and relaxed even though I just told her something I've kept from her for almost two years now..._

_ God, that perfect, __perfect__ build..._

_ She's not saying anything... Should I say something?_

_ His chest... Arms... __Abs__... Damn, this man never ceases to amaze me..._

_ Why is her heart rate going up?!_

_ Hey! Stop being so freaking hot, man!_

_ Wait... She's not afraid or angry... Is that... Lust?_

"Uh... Florence?"

"Yeah?" She was still fixated on his chest.

"... My eyes are up here..."

Her cheeks turned a deep shade of red and her eyes slowly drifted up to his. "Heh heh... Right."

Derek couldn't help but smirk. Almost two years and she _still_ stared at him like they just met.

"S- sorry... I was just looking for some clues..."

"Clues? Clues to what?" he asked with a slight tilt of his head.

"You being a werewolf," she mumbled sheepishly.

"Oh... You don't actually want to see that, do you?"

"Derek, I told you I like werewolves. I just found out my boyfriend _is_ one. Why wouldn't I?"

He could stare at her, his mouth hanging open slightly. He couldn't believe it... All these months keeping something so huge from her, all for nothing!

"So... Could you show me?" she asked, taking a small step forward.

"No."

"Why not?"

"Because..."

"'Because' isn't an answer, Derek," she stated.

A short pause. "You're not going to let me go till I show you, are you?"

"Nope."

He sighed, looking down to the ground for a moment. _She really won't..._ He knew it.

With a sigh, Derek closed his eyes for a brief moment, only to open them again. They were searing red.

Florence stared at his eyes, slowly making her way to him. She had to admit... She did feel a bit of fear trying to push itself into her mind, but awe destroyed it. When she was finally close enough to touch him without outstretching her arm, she noticed there was something under his lips...

He reluctantly pulled a corner of his upper lip up and tilted his head to a better angle so she could see better, baring a long, sharp fang. Florence stared at it, knowing that it could tear into her flesh so easily... But it wouldn't. She trusted him enough to pick up his hands...

She turned them over so his palms were facing the floor and she studied his claws, lightly pressing her thumb against the tip of his left index finger, just to see how sharp it was. It punctured the first layer of her skin with ease.

All Derek could do was watch her examine him, trying to figure out why she wasn't running.

_ She said she likes werewolves... But a lot of other people do and they would be running away screaming. But then, this is Florence. The girl who proved you can get past anything. _


	7. Chapter 7

_Beat-beat, beat-beat, beat-beat..._

He listened to her heartbeat as she continued examining his body, asking multiple questions as she did so. 

"So you don't eat people?" Florence asked as she pulled his lip up to see his fangs again, to which he retracted them so they were only human canines.

"Woah," she whispered under her breath.

"I'm a wolf, Florence, not a bear."

"No, you're a pup-" she cut herself off and gasped, her eyes wide. "_You're a puppy!_"

Derek groaned and tilted his head back. "Aw, come on..."

She really couldn't contain the giggles that escaped her lips or the pure amusement in her eyes. "Derek, you're a puppy!"

"Yes... You've established this many times." 

"I know but know it's true!" she exclaimed, practically bouncing on the balls of her feet.

"I am _not_ a puppy," he grumbled, turning and going to the spiral staircase to sit down on the fourth step up.

"Yes you are." She followed him, standing on the first step and leaning on the railing.

"Ok, Florence. What is it about me, other than being a werewolf, makes you say I'm a puppy?"

"You're adorable. That and you act like one."

"I _act_ like one?!" he asked incredulously. "How?"

"You're like a saint bernard. They look all huge and everything, but really, they're super sweet and warm and cuddly and and just really really nice."

He stared at her with a raised eyebrow. "Sure. I'd like to see you say that when you see me ripping some guy's throat out with my teeth."

Florence's heart rate picked up hearing him say that. "You wouldn't do that..."

"You sure?"

"Yeah... You said you don't eat people."

"I know. But I never said we don't kill people."

Silence. She only stared at him, not knowing if he was kidding or not. _He looks so serious... But he's not a killer... Right?_

Derek sighed, shaking his head lightly with a slight smirk. "You scare too easily, Florence. No, I don't kill people."

She giggled a bit nervously at him, her eyes drifting down to her feet. "Oh..." A short pause. "But something tells me you do have a very strong capability to do so..."

He watched her, not knowing if he should agree with her. _She's too sweet for this... Too childlike for my brutality. But then she's still here..._ With a sigh, he looked down at his knuckles. "Yeah. I do."

Florence looked up at him then, daring to slowly ascend to the third step and crouch in front of him then pick up his hands, staring him in the eye. "But that doesn't mean you're a killer."

_If only you knew..._

"How do you know that?" he asked, his voice low.

"I know you, Derek. Probably better than anyone... I know how you think, how you act. I know when you're upset about something... Which seems like all the time... But I also know when you're happy, which seems like I'm seeing more of lately," she said with a small smile.

"How does that show you I'm not a killer?" he asked, not returning the smile.

She was silent for a moment, trying to make sense of her own words through the headache she had. When she finally spoke, she realized that he was actually watching rather closely, as if he was highly anticipating what she was going to say.

"Because... You're a predator, right?"

Derek frowned slightly but nodded. _If she says what I think she's going to say..._

"Right... You're a predator, but you don't have to be a killer. When I look into your eyes, I don't see blood. I only see... Anger... Sadness... Guilt..." she said slowly and quietly as she stared into his eyes, as if she were staring into his soul. "And secrets."

He pulled his hands away from hers, looking to the side with his head tilted down slightly. Florence looked up at him, feeling an ache in her chest for him.

_I knew it... He is hiding more. Things that hurt him... _

"Der..." She lightly rested a hand on his cheek, to which he grabbed her wrist and pulled her hand away.

"I'm not hiding anything," he said, his voice low and cold. She could only stare at him for a while as she tried to find a way to get him to talk to her, even though he wasn't being very pleasant...

_If he's been keeping all of this in for as long as I've known him, how am I going to get him to tell me anything?_ Florence sighed lightly, looking down. When she finally spoke, her voice was really quiet.

"I wish you would tell me why you're so upset... I want to help you so badly, but I can't if you won't let me."

"I don't need help, Florence. I'm fine. I'm alive. That's good enough for me." He didn't think he'd ever lied so much with so little words as he did then.

"I know that's anything but true," she looked up at him, "because I said the same things before I met you. I was hurting, Derek, but you saved me from that. You made me so happy, just like you do now. I wanna be able to do that for you...

"Do you remember those nights right after we got together, and somehow you'd just _know _that something was wrong with me, so you'd come to my house and you'd just sit and talk with me?" her eyes began to water and she struggled to keep her voice even as she spoke, "You'd make sure I was ok. You would hold me till the pain left, and you'd tell me that everything would be alright because you wouldn't let anything bad happen to me." She swallowed and licked her lips before continuing, trying not to cry too much.

"For those moments, I was happy. I was happy just because you were there with me... I told you everything, Derek, because I knew you were the only one who could help me. I trusted you just like I do now."

"You still trust me even though you know what I am?" he asked, irritation in his voice. "How could you do that, Florence? I'm a _monster_, the reason why children keep nightlights. I'm the thing that is supposed to howl and rip people apart with my teeth on full moons. How could you trust me even thought that's what I am?"

"Did you not hear what I just told you? You protected me from pain and the person who was causing it. You proved to me that you love me by being my hero. How could you call yourself a monster just because of what you are? Just because you have fangs and glowing red eyes? Just because you have the _capability_ to kill someone? None of that defines who _you_ are, Derek. The only thing that does is is what you make of yourself. You have the power to make what you want out of your life... Maybe build a family."

Derek visually saddened at the word. "Maybe I was that person to you... But really, Florence, could you see me with a family? Actually caring for and protecting one? Because I can't."

"Why? Because you've lived alone for this long? Because your family kicked you out?" His eyes darkened then, and they snapped to hers, staring her dead in the eye. She felt so small under his glare...

_That's another thing..._

"Why did they kick you out, Derek?" she asked, her voice quiet.

He stared at her for a long time, debating wether he should tell her the truth or not.

"Derek?"

"I already told you."

"You only said you were a douche..." Florence's voice got lower at the word. She really didn't like swearing like that.

"Yeah. That's all you need to know." He said, his voice ice cold.

She could only nod, looking down as if she were a child being scolded. _He really doesn't want to talk about it..._ It hurt her more than he knew when he left no room for her to ask for explanations. All she wanted was to understand him, to know more about him so she could be closer to him. But of course, like always, he shot her down.

Florence opened her mouth to speak, but he cut her off.

"Your cell phone is ringing."

"What?" she looked around, not hearing anything. "No it isn't."

"I can hear it vibrating on the metal," he stated bluntly. "It's in the washroom."

She stared at him for a brief moment before getting up and quickly making her way to the washroom, being careful not to stumble in the darkness. _He can hear that well?_

Picking up her cell phone from the metal counter, she found he was correct. With just seconds left to answer, Florence swiped the screen and put the phone to her ear.

"Hey, Mom," she greeted reluctantly as she walked out of the washroom.

"Florence! Thank God you answered!" Linda Grimm screamed over the phone, making Florence pull the device away from the ear.

_Please don't scream... Too loud for this headache..._

"I'm sorry I didn't answer last night... I was just really tired."

"You'd better be sorry! You scared me to death! Where are you? Are you safe?"

"Mom, of course I'm safe," she stated as she walked into the main portion of the loft, eyeing Derek, who had not moved from the stair case. "I told you, I stayed at a friend's place."

"Yeah. Derek's." she spat. "I wish you would have come home."

"You act like I'm still a baby. I am tweny-one, you know! I'm pretty sure I can make my own decisions."

"Save it, Florence. You may be grown up, but you're still _my _baby. As a mother, I have to protect you. I don't see you staying with him over night as safe. You didn't do anything, did you?"

She froze, not wanting to lie to her mother but not wanting to tell her the truth. But, she knew she had to. "Ok, Mom, you're probably going to be angry, but here me ou-"

"Florence! You went to bed with him?! Ugh, I _knew _that boy was nothing but trouble!"

"Mom, I really don't want you to be upset with me over this. I'm an adult, not a child."

There was a long pause, long enough that she worried her mother had hung up, before she heard her sigh. "I know... I just want to protect you from the world. You're my baby girl... My baby girl that's grown up much too fast..." Florence then heard sniffling.

"Are you crying?"

"Maybe..."

She couldn't help but laugh a little and shake her head. "Don't cry, Mom. But you're right, I'm still your baby girl... Your baby girl that has grown up. You really don't have to worry about me so much. Derek is a good guy, he takes care of me," she looked over at him to see him smiling. It was a small smile, but it showed that he found something to smile about, and that made her day. "He wouldn't let anything bad happen to me."

"He better not, or else I'll kick that cute ass of his!"

The smile was gone, replaced by a frown.

"Mom!" Florence exclaimed in embarrassment, realizing he could hear her mother.

"What? You know I think he has a cute ass. We spoke about this and you agreed, remember?"

He watched her with a raised eyebrow, hearing her heartbeat pouding in her chest while her face turned a deep shade of red.

"Mother! Stop! Talking!" she screamed, her hands shaking.

"Alright, alright!" Linda chuckled.

It felt good to her to hear her mother laugh. She wasn't angry anymore... Just worried. Like always.

"But I do want to speak with Derek."

Not feeling so good anymore.

"Why? You're not going to curse him out, are you?" Florence asked warily.

"No. I just want to speak with him."

"Alright... Hang on a second," she said as she slowly made her way to Derek and handed him the phone. "She wants to talk to you..."

_Shit. _He put the phone to his ear, his voice clear and strong, just as it always was when he spoke to Linda. "Hello, Ms. Grimm."

"Hi, sweetie. I just wanted to say a few things."

"I'm listening."

"Good, because... HOW FUCKING DARE YOU HAVE SEX WITH MY DAUGHTER?!"

He quickly pulled the phone away from his ear, mumbling, "Holy..."

"DO YOU **WANT **ME TO CASTRATE YOU?! HUH?! DO YOU?!"

For once, Florence found him terrified. His eyes were wide and his mouth was hanging open slightly while he stared at her.

"N- no! I'm... Sorry...?"

"Good. I really don't want to," she admitted, her voice much calmer than it was just seconds before.

Derek warily put the phone back to his ear. "Right..."

"But I will if you don't get my daughter home soon."

He sighed and nodded even though she couldn't see him, saying, "Yes, ma'am."

"Thank you, son. Bye!" with that, she hung up.

He gave the phone back to Florence, fear still in his eyes.

"I thought she said she wasn't going to curse me out..." he mumbled.

"What did she say?" she asked, setting her phone down on the table with a slight frown.

"She threatened to castrate me..."

Florence tried to refrain from laughing at his expression, but she couldn't... It was funny, damn it! The way he looked so terrified over _that _threat from her mother was just too perfect. The only thing she _could_ hold herself back from was snapping a photo of him.

"It's not funny..." he grumbled.

"Derek, you look like you're scared for your life. I'm sorry, but it is in fact funny."

"Whatever," he muttered as he stood from the stairs and went to the table, picking up his car keys. "I should get you home before she decides to actually go through with her threat."

"Alright," she giggled as she went to the side of the bed and pulled on her black flats.

Since he put his shoes on while she was in the shower, all he had to do was put on his jacket. He went to do so, going to the wall next to the stairs where the black leather was hanging and picked it up, but he stopped when he realized something.

_She's not wearing a bra..._ Derek glanced over at her torn clothes which were on the table, feeling guilty.

"I'm ready to go," she said, grabbing his attention.

"Hold on," he mumbled, walking over to and behind her, holding his jacket out for her to wear.

"I'm fine, Der. I don't need a jacket."

"Yeah..." he said, glancing down at her chest- which was almost completely visible since the tank top was too big for her- before looking back at her. "You do."

She got it. "Oh..." she blushed deeply and tilted her head down, slipping her arms through the sleeves and zipping it up half-way. "Thank you." 

"No problem, Rabbit," he said with a slight smile, leaning down to kiss her gently. She responded in the best way she knew how: She pushed herself up slightly with her toes and kissed him back, lightly touching his biceps.

Derek was not the type to break easily. He didn't allow others to see what he feels, to know what he thinks. Why should he? Why should he show the world what his point of view is, what his feelings are, what he hates, what he loves, what he likes, what he dislikes? Why show this world who he is when they're not even listening?

He never knew the answer to that, so he didn't. He kept to himself, day in and day out. That is, till he got closer to Florence... It was she who taught him to open up, even if he only showed her the good in him. But he still let her in. That's what matters, right? He still allowed her to show him the love he had lived without for so long...

So when he kissed her, he knew there was nothing better to him. Everything about her kiss, from the sweetness, the softness, the tenderness, the love and the _pureness _of it, was almost overwhelming. He felt his heart break just a little every time he kissed her, the anger and loathing and guilt he buried so deep beginning to seep out of his heart, slowly but surely. It hurt, but it was a good pain... So when she pulled away, he felt a burning whole in his chest.

"We should get going," Florence stated with an innocent smile.

"Yeah..." he smiled back at her, "But one more thing." 

She tilted her head slightly, showing she was listening.

"What was that about my ass?"

"Wh- what?" she nearly choked.

"Your mother said something about an agreement that I have a nice ass," he stated with a smirk, crossing his arms.

"You- I... My mom is.." she growled and grabbed him by his forearm then yanked him toward the door. "Take me home before my mother cuts your werewolf balls off."

"Yes, ma'am," he chuckled, allowing her to escort him out.

**So there was chapter 7. I really hope you guys liked it because you're the reason I'm writing. Please leave a review, they help me out a whole bunch! I'll have chapter 8 up soon :)**


	8. Chapter 8

"I'll walk you to the door," Derek said as he stopped in front of Florence's house.

"Oh, it's ok. You don't have to do that." She unbuckled her seat belt and opened the car door, putting a foot out.

"Well I'm gonna." He did the same, and while she got out of the car, he walked around to her side and rested a hand on her hip, forgetting about the wounds he made. When she winced, he felt guilt erupt from his gut all the way up to his throat.

He immediately pulled his hand away. "I'm sorry."

"It's ok, Der," she said happily with a smile on her face. But through her cheery voice, he could hear her heartbeat pick up... It killed him. She lied.

All he could was stare down at her, guilt burning in his eyes. He swallowed and nodded, his head snapping to the door when he heard it open.

"Florence!"

_Shit._

"Good morning, Mom," Florence said as a woman about two inches taller than her with brown hair and brown eyes ran out to her, capturing her in a tight hug.

"Don't you, 'Good morning, Mom' me! I called the cops on your ass because you scared me so badly!"

Derek, who had taken a step back from the two women, froze and his eyes widened slightly, but he said nothing.

"Yeah, what happened with the cops anyway?" Florence asked, looking at her boyfriend with a slightly apologetic expression. He only shook his head and waved her a single sign of dismissal.

"The stupid bastards wouldn't do anything," she grumbled, pulling away from her daughter and putting her hands on her hips, "because it hadn't been over twenty-four hours since you left."

Florence sighed and took a step closer to Derek, wrapping her arms around his right bicep and resting her head on his shoulder. When she noticed her mother's eyes observing her apparel, her cheeks turned a light shade of red.

"Florence."

"Yes, Momma?"

"Where are your clothes?" The older woman crossed her arms and put all of her weight on her left leg.

"Uh..." she swallowed and looked up at Derek, fear in her eyes.

"They're on the table in my loft," he stated, his voice calm.

"Is that so?"

"Yes, ma'a-" he was cut off when the short woman took a step toward him and grabbed his ear, pulling him down so he was below her level. He yelped in pain and scrunched his face, not wanting to pull away because he knew it would only make it worse.

"Mom! What are you-" Florence was cut off by her mother's hand waving her off.

"Derek, I already know that you had sex with her. I don't need a reminder of it."

"I-I'm sorry!"

She gave his ear a hard yank, making an, "Ah!" esacpe his lips, before she brought him up to her eye level. "Don't be sorry. I know it had to happen sometime."

"Then why are you so pissed off about it?!" he asked, confusion all over his face.

"I'm not!" she giggled, "I just love to mess with you." 

"Why are you pulling my ear then...?"

"I may not be mad, but I still am irritated," she informed, her voice more serious, "You knew I didn't want her to do that yet, but you guys did it anyway. You're lucky I'm not going to kick your ass just to get my point across."

"Alright, but why won't you?"

"Because you're too cute!" she said as she released his ear and patted his cheek.

Derek stood straight and rubbed his burning ear, clear irritation in his eyes. He liked Florence's mom. Really. But sometimes, she annoyed the hell out of him with being so unpredictable with her emotions.

Florence's eyes darted back and forth between the two as Derek said, "Well good to know."

Linda, Florence's mother, was about to speak but her eldest daughter of her two children stepped out of the front door and stood on the porch while Colven ran past her and to Florence.

"Aunnee!" he exclaimed, wrapping his arms around her hips and hugging her with all of his strength. "I mi'ed you! Where di' you go?"

She smiled brightly and rested her hands on his back. "I stayed at Derek's place last night."

"Ohh, you mean the 'cary castle?" he asked, his eyes locked on hers.

"Yeah, baby," she giggled, "The castle. But it's not scary."

"I know! I's jus' dark!" he buried his face in her hip, and his voice was muffled, "I don' like the dark."

Florence rubbed circles into his back, looking at Derek, who was looking back at her.

_I'm the reason why children keep nightlights. _

"That's alright, Colven. The dark is where the monsters hide because they're afraid of people being afraid of them. They don't want to hurt you."

"Really?"

Derek said nothing. All he could do was stare at her as he felt his emotions churning deep within his chest. _I bet you wouldn't say that if you knew the monster's past._

She gave him a small smile before she looked back down at her nephew. "Really."

Colven nodded and pulled his arms away from her, taking a step back to look at Derek. "Are you 'fraid of the dark?"

It took him a while to answer, so long Florence began to wonder if he was.

Finally, "No. The dark is comforting to me."

Although she was able to keep anyone from noticing the hurt she felt hearing him say that, Colven was not. The child visually saddened and beckoned him down, to which Derek knelt. Linda tilted her head slightly and felt a small ache in her chest. She could always tell something bothered him, but she never thought it would be so bad as to the point where he found comfort in darkness.

When Derek was at his level, Colven wrapped his arms around his neck. The wolf slowly brought his hands up to the toddler's waist in an attempt to return the gesture.

"You shou'nt like the dark, Puppy... The dark is bad. The dark is where sad people 'tay... So be in the light, ok? 'Cause tha's where the happy is. Aunnee really like you, so she happy when you're happy. So you need to be happy, ok?"

Derek didn't know how else to respond, other than to nod while saying, "Yeah... Yeah, I'll be happy." When he looked up at Florence, he swore he saw her eyes watering.

The two-year-old let go of his neck and smiled brightly at him. "T'ank you, Puppy!"

Derek looked back at the child and his lips pulled to a small smile. "No problem, Colt." He then stood and glanced at Florence, wishing he could have his jacket back for a brief moment. But the thought of her out in the open with nothing but a tank top, not even a bra, that was too big for made him realize that she needed it much more than he did. Not only that, but it was still rather cold out.

"So, um, I should get going," He mumbled. In the middle of his sentance, he heard a cell phone vibrating. He quickly looked between Florence and her mother, but neither of them were responding to the phone. Looking past them, he saw Londong, Colven's mother, answering an incoming call. Derek really wasn't the type to listen in on other people's conversations unless he needed information, nor did he care to. He was actually about to tune out of her greeting, but he stopped when he heard the caller's voice.

Derek frowned ever-so-slightly and listened in on their conversation.

"So you don't want me to tell Florence, right?" London asked, covering the ear she didn't have her phone to with an index finger.

"No. I want this to be a surprise." That voice... He knew that voice. _Her _voice. It was so familiar...

"Alright. So where are you?"

"Just down the street. I'll be pulling up to the house in maybe a minute or so."

He couldn't help but notice the excitement in both of the girls' voices, making him wonder what the hell was going on. _An old friend, maybe? But why is her voice so familiar...?_

"Derek?" Florence asked, waving a hand in front of his face.

He blinked and glanced around, noticing Linda had taken her grandson into the house followed by London, before he focused on her. "Huh?"

She frowned slightly with a tilt of her head. "You said you were going to go, so I was saying goodbye." 

"Oh... Sorry. I was just zoning out for a second."

"Yeah," she said with a small giggle. "I could see that."

Florence slipped her arms under his and hugged his waist, resting her head on his chest, to which Derek wrapped his arms around her shoulders and held her close. There was this horrible feeling in his gut, one that he hated... He just had no clue why. He pulled her closer and buried his face in her neck, smelling her scent. Derek felt the nerves in his abdomen relax, making him exhale what seemed to be relief.

He could hear a car coming... It wasn't very far, maybe a quarter of a mile away.

The bad feeling came back.

"Are you alright, Der?" she asked, tilting her head slightly so he could have more access to her neck. She really didn't know how, but she just... Knew... That he needed her scent.

"Yeah," his voice was low and smooth, but he just seemed like he was bothered- more than usual. "I just... I just really love you, ok? I love you more than everything in this world and I wouldn't trade you for anything."

Florence smiled and hugged him tighter. "I love you too, Derek."

The car was getting closer... So much closer...

Derek inhaled her scent again, trying to push the sound away. Someone was coming... Someone that could change everything, and that bothered him. No... It made him to the point where he was _afraid._

"You know if something's bothering you, you can tell me, right?"

He nodded, closing his eyes tightly when he heard the he car pull up to the house. He heard a door open and close. A very familiar scent wafted through the air, one that made him feel sick with guilt... He nuzzled his noze to her neck and kept his back to the street. He didn't want to see her face... He didn't want to hear her voice again. He didn't want to smell her scent. Not again.

"Ay, Florence! How come I'm not getting any of this fluffy lovin'?!" He knew that voice.

Florence peeked out from behind Derek, only to see a girl about her height with long, curly blond hair and bright blue eyes running up to her. "Kory?!"

Derek's eyes widened and his heart began pounding in his chest. Before he knew it, Florence was out of his arms. He quickly turned and found her embracing the other girl in a very tight hug... He could hear his own heart pounding in his chest, but he did manage to relax his eyes so as to not show shock.

He knew this girl, Kory. He remembered her, even though he didn't want to. The last time he saw her, she was running out the door with tears pouring out of her eyes. He must have been sixteen years old...?

No. He wouldn't think of that. He couldn't. Right then, he needed to make sure Florence had no idea he knew this girl.

Since Florence was facing the street, Kory could get a good look at Derek. In the matter of seconds the hug between the girls lasted, Kory's eyes widened and the smile she had faded when she saw him.

_Derek?_

He shot her a deadly glare- he didn't intend to, but he was afraid...- and held his index finger to his lips.

She swallowed and stared at him, but she quickly put up that smile she wore so well when Florence began pulling away from the hug.

"What are you doing here?!" she asked, clear happiness and excitement in her voice.

"I thought I'd come by and surprise my best friend, whom I haven't seen in God knows how long," she laughed, glancing at Derek.

"Three years! God, I missed you so much!" Florence screamed with a huge smile on her face.

"I missed you too, Florence," Kory kept smiling, even as she listened to his heart beating...

"Hey," Derek was suddenly behind Florence, more to her right, and he placed a hand on her shoulder blade, "I'm going to get going. I'll see you la-"

"Oh, but Derek! You need to stay!"

"What? Why?" he asked, clearly not enjoying the idea.

"Because! This is my best friend I was telling you about a few months ago! You know the one that moved to Colorado?"

"Yeah..." he said, forcing himself to look at Kory. He needed to make it look like he didn't know her... "I remember something about that." 

Kory understood. He didn't want Florence to know that they knew each other... Yeah, it irritated her, but she couldn't think about that at the moment. She knew she would have to go along with it, with him.

"Hi," she smiled and held a hand out to him, "I'm Kory."

"Derek," his voice was low and smooth, and he took her hand and shook it briefly before letting go. She remembered how it felt to have his hand holding hers...

"He's my boyfriend," Florence giggled as she wrapped her arms around Derek's left bicep and hugged it, clear happiness radiating from her body.

If anything, that was what kept Derek from walking away. She was so happy... It pained him to think about leaving her side then.

Kory smiled and looked up at him. It wasn't forced... It was a smile. A real _smile._ "He seems like a nice guy."

"He is! It was his birthday yesterday, you know."

_I know. _

"Florence..."

"Oh really?" Kory giggled.

"Mhm. He turned tweny-three."

"Well, happy birthday, Derek," Kory said warmly.

_Is she faking this? I can't tell..._

"Thanks," he grumbled, glancing at his car. "But, babe, I really need to get going..."

Kory sighed lightly, going unnoticed by her best friend. Derek, however caught it, and looked her dead in the eye.

There were several things he would have expected to see when he looked into her eyes. He was sure he'd see pain, anger, betrayel, hatred, all directed to him. But one thing he did not expect to see was... Happiness. He could see it in her eyes as if everything between them that happened in the past was gone... Until he looked further. Then he saw it. The hurt... It was just barely there, but he found it.

_Damn, she's gotten good at covering up her feelings._

He could tell she was taking in deeper breaths through her nose as she smelled the air... Smelled him.

Derek frowned slightly, but he kept his mouth shut. _Kory's a wolf... And Florence doesn't know? Some friendship they have... But then I only just told her._

"Hey, Der?" Florence asked as she looked up at him.

He tilted his head down to her. "Yeah?"

"Can I borrow your car?"

"What?!" He nearly choked. "No!"

She tried to look sad, but she really couldn't do it. Florence giggled and shook her head only to let go of his arm and cross her arms. "I was kidding. I know you won't let anyone drive your car unless you're with them." 

Kory couldn't help but smile at the scene. Her best friend with the first person she fell in love with... With the person she still somehow loves.

"Well, looks like someone is protective," she small blond observed.

Florence smiled and looked at her best friend. "You have no idea."

The wolf sighed lightly and glanced around, shoving his hands in his jacket pockets, then cleared his throat and looked down at his girlfriend. "You enjoy your friend. I'm gonna get back to the loft."

"Aww ok..." she pouted, hugging him one last time then tilting her head up to kiss him. He smiled slightly and leaned down, catching her lips with his.

Kory remembered when he would kiss her like that. It hurt to see another girl with him... Again... but she was more so afraid for her friend. _What does she know about him...? I never told her anything about what happened with him... Or that I even had a boyfriend..._ Kory had to stop herself from showing anything but happiness. If Florence saw how bad she felt, she would never get her friend to leave her alone about it, which would ultimately lead to explaining how she knew Derek... Which was something she both regreted but would not trade for anything- if that makes any sense at all.

When the couple pulled apart, Kory smiled and looked up at Derek. "You better be taking care of her, Derek."

Florence's eyes brightened and she hugged him again, "He is, even if he doesn't know it."

He couldn't help but smile slightly as he hugged her back. "He knows it. I'll see you later, ok?"

"K. Bye," she kept up that beautiful smile as she kissed his cheek, to which Kory _awwed._

Derek smiled a little more then let go of her and walked to his car and was just about to open the door when he was stopped by Florence calling to him. "Wait, what about your jacket?"

"I'll get it later," he said as he opened the door.

"Are you sure? I mean this is your jacket..."

"Yeah," he said, waving her off, "don't worry about it."

"Alright," she couldn't help but feel incredibly happy with being able to stay wrapped up in the jacket's warmth. It smelled like him, it was warm like him... She loved it.

With that, Derek got into the car and started it up, one hand on the steering wheel. The radio immdiately started playing, and Kory could tell which song it was even though Florence couldn't even hear it. It crippled him. He couldn't move... He could only stop and listen to the song while gripping the wheel tightly.

_-Don't wanna live!_

_ I don't wanna breathe_

_ Unless I feel you next to me!_

_ You take the pain I feel!_

_ Waking up to you never felt so real!_

All Kory could do was listen and feel the pain she felt every time she heard that damned song...

_I don't wanna sleep!_

_ I don't wanna dream!_

_ 'Cuz my dreams don't comfort me!_

_ The way you make me feel!_

_ Waking up to yo-_

He shut off the radio and drove away.

He couldn't allow himself to feel even worse about what happened with her. He wouldn't.

"If I'm an asshole for that, great," he mumbled to himself as he slid a CD into the stereo and turned up the volume loud enough for people outside of the car to hear it, "but I'm not going to let my past hurt her."

With the sound of the heavy and brutal metal blasting, he felt the anger that constantly burned deep within his chest rising to the surface like magma. Derek screamed the lyrics in his mind while the singer, James Hetfeild, unleashed his voice.

_End of passion play, crumbling away_

_ I'm your source of self-destruction_

_ Veins that pump with fear, sucking dark is clear_

_ Leading on your death's construction_

_ Taste me you will see_

_ More is all you need_

_ Dedicated to_

_ How I'm killing you!_

_ Come crawling faster_

_ Obey your master_

_ Your life burns faster_

_ Obey your master_

_ Master!_

Derek felt his heart pick up as he listened to the lyrics. _Just obey your fucking master, Derek..._

_Master of puppets, I'm pulling your strings_

_ Twisting your mind and smashing your dreams_

_ Blinded by me, you can't see a thing_

_ Just call my name 'cause I'll hear you scream_

_ Master!_

_ Master!_

_ Just call my name, 'cause I'll hear you scream_

_ Master!_

_ Master!_

Who was his master? Laura? His mother? Haha no, they were dead because of him. Maybe it was Florence? She seemed to have a way of ruling him, what with the way she could just ask him for something and he'd obey. Or maybe it was Kory since she had the power to just walk in and tear everything apart with just a few words. Or was it even a real person?

_Needlework the way, never you betray_

_ Life of death becoming clearer_

_ Pain monopoly, ritual misery_

_ Chop your breakfast on a mirror_

_ Taste me you will see_

_ More is all you need_

_ Dedicated to_

_ How I'm killing you!_

_ Come crawling faster_

_ Obey your master_

_ Your life burns faster_

_ Obey your master_

_ Master!_

_Master of puppets, I'm pulling your strings_

_ Twisting your mind and smashing your dreams_

_ Blinded by me, you can't see a thing_

_ Just call my name 'cause I'll hear you scream_

_ Master!_

_ Master!_

_ Just call my name, 'cause I'll hear you scream_

_ Master!_

_ Master!_

Was it his past? If anything, it sure as hell seemed so. His past always crushed him whenever he found something good and tore its remains apart. It was tearing _him_ apart! Everything he tried to do would be destroyed! Anything that he loved would be _demolished_ and there was nothing he could do about it because... How can a slave disobey his master without being beaten?

_Master! Master!_

_ Where're the dreams that I've been after?_

_ Master! Master! You promised only lies!_

_ Laughter, laughter, all I hear or see is laughter_

_ Laughter, laughter, laughing at my cries!_

_ Hell is worth all that, natural habitat_

_ Just a rhyme without reason_

_ Neverending daze, drift on numbered days_

_ Now your life is out of season_

He was tired of being fucking ruled by his mistakes! He was tired of having to keep everything away from the woman he loved! He was tired of the anger! He was tired of the pain! He was tired of living every single fucking day of his life in the shadows because every time he stepped into the light, someone got hurt! He was tired of being a danger! He was tired of remembering! He was tired of looking down at his hands and seeing them covered in his family's blood! He was tired of being a slave!

But mostly... He was tired of the fact that he was _exhausted,_ so he had to keep himself alive with pure rage.

_I will occupy_

_ I will help you die_

_ I will run you through_

"Now I rule you too!" he growled as the last line of that stanza was sung.

_Come crawling faster!_

_ Obey your master!_

_ Your life burns faster!_

_ Obey oyour master!_  
_ Master!_

_ Master!_

_ Master of puppets, I'm pulling your strings_

_ Twisting your mind and smashing your dreams_

_ Blinded by me, you can't see a thing_

_ Just call my name, 'cause I'll hear you scream_

_ Master! _

_ Master!_

_ Just call my name 'cause I'll hear you scream!_

_ Master!_  
_ Master!_

_ I know you can hear me,_ he thought as a low growl rumbled in his chest, _but I'm so fucking tired of being your god damned slave._

Who was he referring to?

Himself.

***takes in a deep breath then exhales* Ok... So this is what happens when I listen to Metallica while writing O_o I hope you all enjoyed this chapter! :3**

**Disclaimer: the song Master of Puppets belongs to it's rightful owners.**


	9. Chapter 9

"So," Kory began while she dragged every food that was sweet out of Florence's refridgerator, "how long have you guys been dating?"

"Almost a year," the short brunette said as she sat on the counter and ate directly from a large jar of peanut butter.

"Ah. You two are really cute together, you know."

Florence blushed slightly and looked down into the jar, a cute smile on her face. "I hope so... He makes me so happy, Kory."

"I can tell," she laughed. She then bit into a cooled candy bar- one that probably belonged to London. "But um... What do you know about him?"

"What do you mean?"

_How do I even put this...?_

"What do you uh... Know about his family? Where he was born, what his interests are?" Kory knew the answers to all of the questions she had. She just needed to find out what she knew.

"Well, I know that he was born here in Beacon Hills, and I know that he likes to play sports-mostly basketball- but not around other people. He likes to go to basketball courts at night when no one else is around and just shoot hoops," Florence stated as she licked some peanut butter off of a spoon.

_I remember that... He used to love playing in teams, though. Why'd he stop?_

"How do you know that? I mean you said he goes alone."

"He took me to the park one night and we played one-on-one. He beat me of course," Florence giggled.

"Yeah, he seems like the type of guy to be competitive."

_Hell yeah, he's competetive. The little bastard never let any of the human team players take the spotlight during games._

"You have no idea."

Kory had to smile at that. "Right... So what about his family?" Really, it hurt to even think about that. She knew his family... They were always so nice to her. She loved Cora, his little sister. She remembered when she and Derek would babysit her- wait, is it babysitting if you sneak out to go to parties and pay the children you were supposed to be watching to keep their mouths shut?- and his younger brother, Damion. God, she missed those days...

"Oh... Um..." Florence frowned slightly and set the jar of peanut butter down on the counter. "He hasn't really told memuch about them."

"No? Well, what has he told you?"

"Just that he was kicked out because he was a jerk..."

_God damn it, Derek... Just more lies piling up... She had better at least now what the hell you are._

"Why do you want to know anyway?" Florence asked with a slight tilt to her head.

"Because this is the guy holding my best friend's heart. I wanna make sure he's alright." The blond really wasn't lying. She always figured that Derek changed a lot... She just needed to know how.

"He's better than alright, Kory," she assured. "He's helped me out a lot."

"How so?" Kory asked, crossing her arms.

"Well... He uh... Got me out of bad situations."

The blond raised an eyebrow. "Like?"

Florence swallowed and quickly picked up the peanut butter and shoved the spoon in her mouth so she wouldn't have to speak. Really, it was kind of perfect. She had a moment to thing about what she was going to say, even if it was only brief, and she had the blissful taste of smooth peanut butter. But still... How _would _she explain everything that happened with Kyle to Kory? She never so much as told her that her ex hit her. When Kory asked how things were going with Kyle one night over a phone call- before Florence and Derek made their relationship official- Florence told her that they broke up and she really didn't want to talk about it. In all technicality, she wasn't lying. They did break up, and she really did _not _want to talk about it to _anyone. _The only reason why she told Derek was because he could see through her so easily... He just knew that something was up with her, which was one of the reasons why she was suspicious about him...

"Florence. What bad situations?" Kory asked just a bit impatiently.

The brunette pulled the spoon out of her mouth and shrugged lightly. "Maybe 'bad' isn't the right adjective..."

"Tell me anyway." She crossed her arms and leaned on the counter in front of Kory.

"Hey, you know, there's this movie coming out tonight. It's about this guy who-"

"No, it's about this girl who's best friend beat her to a bloody pulp because she wouldn't tell her anything."

Florence's eyes widened slightly. _She must really want to know..._ She sighed and nodded lightly. "Alright... Um... Do you remember Kyle?"

"Yeah, I remember him. You guys broke up but you never really told me why... All you said was things weren't working out."

"That was true..." She felt as if her stomach turned black. It felt as if it were covered in a thick, slimy fluid... She wanted to throw up just by the thought of explaining those memories... Yeah, she left it behind her, she dropped it and didn't allow it to control her life, but she couldn't stop the sickening feeling she'd get every time she thought about it... She just learned to live with it.

"Ok... But I know there's more," Kory pressed, tilting her head slightly. She could see the sickened look on her friend's face.

Florence shook her head... And tears began welling up in her eyes. She didn't want to say it... She didn't want to relive those damned memories. God, she needed Derek, the only one who could take the pain...

"Florence... You're crying. I'd say that's pretty bad," the blond said, an ache going through her chest seeing her best friend cry.

"I am not crying," she said as she blinked and wiped her eyes. She told herself the same thing she had told herself for months now, _Don't you dare cry. Don't give in. It's behind you. Don't you __dare__ cry. _

Kory could practically hear the hurt that came with every beat of the other girl's heart. "What is it?" her voice was soft and light, "What happened to you? Did Derek...?"

"No! No... No, Derek would never hurt me."

_You don't know that. _"I just wanted to make sure. But... Someone did. Was it Kyle?"

Florence nodded slowly, not wanting to speak.

"So... He hurt you? Like _hurt you _hurt you? Because that's what I'm getting off of this."

She didn't respond. She couldn't. All she could do was think... Think if she should tell her friend everything. _No... I shouldn't. How am I supposed to get over this if I allow it to keep coming up? _

"Florence?"

"I don't want to talk about it."

"You need to. How else am I supposed to help you?" 

"Who said I needed help? Who even said that anything happened?" Florence's tone was gradually beginning to strengthen.

"You said that Derek helped you get out of some situations. I can only assume that these 'situations' affected you in negative ways... And now you're proving it."

"What? No I'm not!" 

"You are..."

"How?" Florence's voice was now louder, but not so loud that everyone in the house could hear her.

"Just by the way you're getting defensive. That and you were about to cry."

The brunette stared at her friend with her mouth hanging open a bit for a brief moment before she quickly closed her jaws and looked away while exhaling through her nose. Now she was just irritated.

"I know there's something you're not telling me," Kory said, "so please... Talk to me."

Florence shook her head lightly. "There's nothing to talk about."

"That's bullshit and you know it."

"Is it?"

"Yeah!"

"Well then consider yourself served because that's all your getting. Now drop it!"

Kory put her hands up defensively. "Alright, alright..." _Wow. That's great, Kory. Piss her off after only being here for an hour. Wonderful. _The blond scolded herself for pushing too hard. With a sigh, she thought, _Just... Try to make her laugh. I don't want her mad at me..._ "So..."

Florence was looking down at her hands at this point. The horrible feeling in her gut was still there, and she wanted nothing more than it to just go away.

"Florence?"

"What?"

"Do you wanna build a snowman?"

The brunette fought back a smile. "Go away, Kory."

"Ok, fiiiinnneeeee..." The blond faked a saddened look, but she couldn't hold back the smile tugging at her lips. She got deep dimples on both cheeks.

Florence sighed and jumped down from the counter, wrapping her arms around her best friend in a tight hug, they're faces squishing together. "I would love to build a snowman with you." She couldn't be mad at this woman... She was too much like family.

Kory smiled brightly against her cheek, feeling relieved that she wasn't angry with her. "In the middle of summer."

"Yeah! When else do you build snowmen?"

"During the _zombie apocalypse__!_" both girls said the last two words simultaneously, making them giggle. Back when Kory was nineteen and Florence was eighteen- when they first met- they used the term "zombie apocalypse" as an answer to everything.

_"Florence, when does London get back from work?"_  
_"When the zombie apocalypse hits, mom."_

_"Aunnee Flower, di' you ha' fun on your day with Puppy?"_

_"Yes, I did. But the zombie apocalypse came up, so we had to kill some zombehs!"_

_"...Wha..."_

_"Ay, bitchacho! Why the hell can't I find my favorite jeans? You know the ones I let you borrow last week?"_

_"I'm keeping them just incase the zombie apocalypse happens."_

It was actually the reason why they became friends so quickly. One day at the store with her mother, Florence ran off to the video games section to marvel over the _Call of Duty _game that had come out just a week prior.

_*Almost four years ago*_

She slowly stepped up to the large case that sheltered hundreds of other games and reached her hand up to touch the cool glass.

She had been saving her money for weeks for that game, and she finally had the cash in her pocket. Sure, it was sixty bucks, but hey, this was _**Black Ops**_, alright?!

Florence ran to the counter of the electronics center and begged for help from one of the employees, seeing as the game she so dearly wanted was behind glass. He made his way to the case- much too slow in Florence's opinion- and unlocked the door of the case. Her heart was pounding in her chest the whole time...

When she finally had it in her hands, her eyes began to water. With a sniffel, she looked up at the employee who was closing the glass.

"Thank you... So much," she looked at his nametag, "Levi."

Levi, who was actually a very short man, maybe five foot three, with jet black hair and grey eyes, smiled slightly. "No problem. That game is pretty kickass, so I get how you feel about finally having it."

Tears poured down her cheeks as she nodded and hugged him tightly, burying her face in his neck. "You don't understand how much this means to me, sir!"

He laughed. It wasn't an awkward or nervous laugh... It was genuine. "I think I do." He hugged her back. Damn, this boy really could give amazing hugs! He smelled pretty good too.

"Did she just get _Black Ops_?" Florence looked up from Levi's neck. No one there. She looked to the right and saw a girl, about her age and her height-maybe a few inches taller- with blond hair and bright blue eyes.

"Yes," Levi said, not even bothering to try to pry her off of him, "yes she did."

"Well, can I get a little _CDO _lovin'?"

Florence narrowed her eyes a little. "That depends. Are you here to buy the game?"

"Hell yeah!"

"Are you buying it for the campaign or for the zombies?"

"Pfft," the girl rolled her eyes, "Who buys it for the campaign? Zombies!"

"Dude." She pulled away from Levi, who had decided to just stay silent and watch the area around them to make sure no one was stealing any merchandise, and went up to the blond with her hand up for a high-five. "Yes."

Their hands slapped together and then locked as they pulled them down.

As soon as he was free, Levi pulled another _Black Ops _copy out of the large glass case and handed it to the blond girl, who seemed equally as excited to touch the game.

"I would rather have this than sex..." she mumbed, beginning to tear up.

Levi chuckled and said, "Enjoy your games, ladies." With that, he turned to walk away. He didn't get very far, however, because right as he turned, the blond-haired girl slapped his ass.

"I think I'd like to enjoy your games, shorty."

He smirked and shoved his hands in his pockets. "Sorry, but I have a girlfriend." He turned again and made his way back to the counter.

"So," Florence began, a bit amazed how this girl was able to touch him like that as if it was nothing, "You play for zombies?"

"Damn straight."

"Alright," the brunette crossed her arms, "tell me. What do you do to survive in a zompie apocalypse?" 

"Find a male about your age. Go to a Costco or any large building that is packed with nonperishable foods. Take out all the zombies inside. Dispose of the bodies. Barricade the doors. Stay inside for two years to let the zombies die out."

"Wait, why find a male about your age?" Florence asked with a slight tilt to her head.

The girl grinned. "Repopulation!"

"Oh my god..." The brunette chuckled and shook her head.

"My name's Kory. I like you." 

"Florence," she held her hand out to shake, "I like you too."

Kory smirked and grabbed her hand, pulling her into a tight hug. "You are my new friend." she stated, as if that could make it a cement deal. Neither of them knew how far those words would take them.

Florence giggled and hugged her back. "Awesome!"

"We should so meet up at my place or something and play this game!" Kory suggested, as if they had been friends for years.

"I think we should buy it first..." 

"Nope." The blond pulled away from the hug and grabbed her hand and began tugging her along, her voice a whisper, "We'll just take the backdoor."

"Wait, what?!" Florence halted to a stop. There was no way she could steal that game!

The other girl laughed and turned to look at her. "I'm kidding. Of course we're going to pay for it. Come on," she began walking toward the counter, Florence following her.

Just moments later, the games were paid for and they were walking around the store. "Hey, we should get some candy."

Florence's eyes lit up at that suggestion. "And tea?"

"Please... Tell me... Arizona Black and White?" Kory looked almost pleading with her.

The shorter girl's eyes teared up just a little and she glompled her. "I think I've found my soul mate!"

Kory giggled and kept her arms at her sides, considering she really couldn't move them, what with Florence's arms around hers with an iron grip. "Sorry, but I don't swing that way."

"It's ok, I don't either!"

"You have a boyfriend?"

"Yup," Florence unlocked her arms and continued their walk to the candy isle. At this point, she and Kyle had only been together for about a month. She really didn't know how bad things would get from being with him... But she also didn't know the amazing gift she would recieve to compensate for it.

"Ohhh," Kory grinned, "What's his name?"

"Kyle," she blushed at the thought of him. "He's really nice to me."

"Oh? How so?"

"He does all of the normal boyfriend things. He holds my hand, kisses me, cuddles with me."

Kory smiled and walked into the isle shelving all of the candy. Her eyes scanned over every box and bag. Oh, how she _loved _the sight of the bright colors... And the scent that her wolf nose could pick up on that humans couldn't. "That's so nice. I hope he always treats you like that."

Florence nodded with a cute smile and looked over the inventory. "So what about you? Do you have a boyfriend?"

"Not right now. I've decided to give dating a break. It seems like all the guys I date are assholes..." Especially guys that tell you they love you and then sleep with someone else. But hey... It's been three years. It's done and over with. He fell off the face of the Earth after the fire... And she moved on.

Even though it still hurt.

Florence nodded again as she pulled a bag of _SweeTart Gummies _off of the shelf. She had to stand on the tips of her toes to reach it. "I'm sorry to hear that," she looked down at the bag then at her, a soft smile on her lips, "I'm sure you'll find the right guy for you."

The blond couldn't help but smile back. This girl was so sweet and adorable!

"I'm happy I met you today, Kory."

Her smile got bigger. "I'm happy I met you too, Muchacho."

_*later that night*_

"THAT IS SUCH MOTHER FUCKING BULLSHIT!"Kory screamed as she threw her controller across the room.

Florence just laughed and popped a gummy in her mouth.

"TWENTY FUCKING ROUNDS! TWENTY! MOTHER! FUCKING! ROUNDS!" she buried her face into the pillow she had over her lap so her elbows could rest comfortably. Both girls were sitting on the floor with their backs against Kory's bed.

"I know!" the brunette chuckled and took a small drink of her can of tea. "But see, we can go again."

Kory's face shot up from the pillow and stared at the screen. "You had better fucking believe we are going again."

_*Present Day*_

It had been so long since Florence had spent a night with her best friend. Too long. So when that day finally came, she couldn't have been happier.

"I missed this so much, you know," the younger girl said as they played _Guitar Hero 3_. Of course, Kory was kicking her ass.

"I missed it t- AH FUCK YEAH! NOTE STREAK OF FIVE HUNDRED! KISS MY ASS, MOTHER FUCKERS!" the blond screached as she jumped up from the stool they had grabbed from the kitchen. She gripped the neck of her guitar controller and fist pumped her free hand, feeling all of the victory one could with a game.

"Hey, hey!" Florence laughed at her friend's enthusiasm, but she grabbed her wrist and pulled her back down. "You needa be quiet. My mom is trying to sleep."

"Yeah, she's trying to sleep! Get your ass to bed, Kory!" Linda could be heard yelling from the master bedroom down the hall.

"Yes, Momma!" Kory giggled, staring at the door. Her face suddenly turned serious, however, when she looked at Florence. "We are so not going to sleep."

"Sorry, bro, but I need to. I'm working tomorrow," Florence said as she scrolled through the tracklist of the video game.

"Damn it... What am I gonna do when you leave?"

"I don't know... Sleep, play with Colven, hang out with London, wrestle a bear, play video games, raid the refridgerator. Ya know. Normal stuff."

"Psh, I know I'll raid the refridgerator. Oh! Oh! Raining Blood! Let's play Raining Blood!" Kory exclaimed, frantically pointing at the screen.

"Alright, alri-" 

"God damn it, Kory!" Linda's muffled voice again. "I don't wanna hear about your raining blood! Go the hell to sleep!"

Florence laughed out loud, holding Kory down from running into her mother's room and rolling around on her bed. Yeah, it seemed absurd because who does that? Kory. Kory is who does that. She proved it the last time she stayed the night in that house.

"Sorry, Mom! We'll go to bed soon!"

Kory shot her friend a glare. "You are no fun at all, you know that?"

Florence smiled and hugged her best friend's arm. "But you love me anyway."

"'Out the back door, god damn! But I love her anyway!'" the blond qouted one of her favorite songs.

The younger girl rolled her eyes and unwrapped her arms from the other's bicep, then tapped the green button on the guitar controller. It wasn't very long at all till both girls were engrossed in the game, but of course their minds were on different things. But then... Were they?

Although she appeared to be totally into the game and nothing else, Kory's thoughts would not shut up. _How is she with Derek of all people? She's too nice... Too sweet. I mean he used to be nice like her- well, maybe more sarcastic, but he was still happy. He's not like that anymore though... Not since Paige... And definitely not since the fire... Ugh, why can't I just forget about him? Oh. That's right. I've only loved him since the third grade... Stupid ass crushes... Crushing my heart and soul and existence and shit. _

_But it's more than a crush... It's a fucking- OH MY GOD WHAT THE FUCK GUITAR SOLO OK. _

Florence, who obviously did not have nearly as much practice in the gaming category as her friend, was falling behind on the notes, much unlike Kory, who managed to miss about two. "God, Kory, how are you able to play like this?"

"Perfect practice makes perfect performance," she muttered, her eyes glued to the screen while her fingers flew over over the keys.

"Alright..."

_But __why__ is she with __Derek__?! Why couldn't she be with someone else? Someone who won't lie to her like he is... _An ache crept through Kory's chest. _She's going to find everything out soon... And when she does, she's going to fall. Hard. _

The song ended minutes later, and Florence opened and closed her fingers several times. "Seriously, how do people just shred on guitars like that?" 

"They're gods, Florence. I'm sure we've been over this."

The brunette couldn't help but smile at that. "You sound like Derek right now." 

"What?" Kory frowned slightly. How the hell did she sound like him?!

"He basically said the same thing about Metallica. He loves that band a lot," Florence giggled, taking pride in the fact that she knew his favorite band.

Kory had to stop herself from saying, "I know." Instead she said, "Oh... That's cool. Metallica is the shit, you know!"

"Well, I'm not really into heavy metal, but I'll take your word for it."

The blond nodded. "So... What else about Derek?"

"Hm?"

"What's he like? I mean we haven't really talked about him much since I've been here."

"Oh..." Florence set her guitar controller down on her bed. "Well, for one, he's very protective of me. I mean I can't even hug another guy without him getting jealous. Two, he's... Tall," both girls giggled.

"Or maybe we're just short." 

"Yeah, probably. Anyway... He's really good to me, Kory. I mean when I'm with him, I feel completely safe. He hugs me, and I feel as if I'm being shielded from every possible danger. I love him... I trust him. I trust him with my entire being. And honestly, I owe my life to him," her voice got very low as she spoke. She really did, didn't she?

_Oh, Florence... No..._ "That's... That's cute, but what do you mean you owe your life to him?"

Her eyes, which were previously locked on Kory's, slowly drifted down. _I need to tell her... Don't I? She's going to find out eventually..._

"Florence?"

Florence took in a deep breath and stared down at her hands, feeling sick again. She'd gone this long without speaking a word of what happened to anyone besides Derek, and she was about to spill. Of course her stomach would be twisting in her body...

"Look, Kory... Don't freak out... Ok? It happened a long time ago..." Her voice was so quiet.

"Alright," Kory shifted in her seat and put her guitar down.

"Kyle... He uh... He used to hit m-"

"HE WHAT?!" Kory shot up from the stool and clenched her fists, making Florence quickly put her hands up, trying to tell her to calm down.

"You can't be so loud!" she practically stage whispered, pointing to the bedroom door.

"Sorry... But, Florence! Why didn't you tell me?"

"Because... I knew you'd flip..." 

"Well yeah! Oh my god... How bad was it?"

"Well, I had bruises..."

Kory sighed and sat on the stool again. "So what? Derek helped you get out of that?"

"Yeah... He told me to leave him... So I left him."

"That's it?"

Florence nodded quickly. "Yeah."

No.

Kory heard the uptick in her heart rate... She lied.

"Are you sure?"

"Mhm. Yeah. After Kyle... Derek and I just got closer and closer till we finally just decided that we were official. We actually spent a few months just getting to know each other." It was obvious what Florence was trying to do.

Kory sighed lightly. _If she wants to change the subject... Fine. I'll just find Derek. _"So, you guys took it slow?"

"Yes. I think he felt that I needed time to heal, ya know? He's really considerate like that. Like he's constantly making sure I'm comfortable with something, if I'm ok, if I'm happy."

"He sounds like a really great guy," the blond said. _Yeah... Really nice. _

"He is!" Florence agreed, a huge smile on her face.

"Right, well... What time is your shift at the art center?"

"Ummm," she squinted a little and tilted her head as she tried to remember what hours she worked, "Oh! 10 a.m."

Kory nodded. "Then you should get some sleep. It's already," she pulled her cell phone out of her pocket and checked the time, "yeesh, 3:26 a.m."

"Dang... Alright. Pick out a movie that we can fall asleep to." Since they had changed into pajamas just hours before, Florence only had to get into her bed.

Kory nodded and scanned the small movie shelf next to the television, picking up Disney's _Frozen _to put it in the Xbox. She then hopped over to the bed and practically jumped in next to Florence, grateful that the bed was a queen size.

"What are we watching?" Florence asked.

"_Frozen_!"

She laughed and shook her head lightly. "You really like this movie, huh?"

"Yes! I saw it the day it came out!" 

"Me too!" Florence laughed, "I dragged Derek into the movie theater with me."

"Oh Lord..."

"Of the Rings. I know. He wasn't too thrilled with it."

"I would assume not. He doesn't seem like the Disney type," Kory observed.

"Nah. But you wanna know what I told him?"

"What?"

"'Let it go,'" Florence stated, holding back a bark of laughter.

"Ayyyyy I see what you did there!"

"Exactly," the younger girl yawned as she got more comfortable in her bed. Her eyes already felt heavy... It wasn't long before they were too heavy to keep open.

Within just ten minutes, Kory looked over at her best friend to find her asleep. She smiled slightly and adjusted the blanket around her shoulder to keep her warm. "Goodnight, Florence."

The blond shifted a little on her back and glanced around the room, finding a bunch of things that reminded her of the short time she spent with Florence. It was just a little over a year, yes, but during that time, Kory found a friend that she loved so much. There really wasn't anything more important to her than Florence.

She saw a photograph of herself and her friend in their bathing suits next to the water slides at the water park. Kory remembered that day, and she smiled. The more she looked around, the more photographs she saw... She also found Derek's jacket sitting in the corner of the room on the jacket hook drilled into the wall.

Kory sighed lightly and stared at the leather. She could smell it from where she lay. It had the same scent... Only it had Florence on it too. Of course, she herself had Derek all over her...

_Why didn't Florence tell me they had sex? I'm her best friend... What the hell, man?_ She wanted to ask her about it. She wanted to make sure Florence wasn't hurt, but she knew she couldn't. If she did, it would spark up a whole bunch of questions, like how she was able to tell... Kory shook her head lightly and pulled her mind from there. She really didn't want to to think about it. W_ell... If I'm going to have to find that fucker tomorrow, better remember how that jacket smells so I can track his ass down._

She knew she'd remember the scent.

She knew it would be easy to find Derek.

His scent was so distinct... He always smelled like the woods, but his personal sweat, his natural body aroma, was like Heaven to Kory. It was strong, but not "dude you needa shower" strong. It was like she could smell _power_... That had always been a characteristic of his scent. She remembered it from when she would spend nights looking up at the stars with him on top of the Hale house roof. But now... It seemed like it grew... Like he gained so much strength and power over the years that his scent was more potent.

How could anyone forget that?

**Alright, muchachos! Here it is. Sorry it took longer for an update, but I wanted to get some schoolwork outta the way. That and I was busy all weekend with my birthday *mutters* Stupid birthday... *normal voice* And whatnot. But hey, I got a bombass wolf pen! :D **

** Anyyywwaaayyyyyyy.. Yep.**


	10. Chapter 10

**I am soooooo sorry it has taken me so long to update! I was busy all weekend and schoolwork has gotten in the way. That and my RPs have been needing some attention.. Anyway, here, have a chapter.**

Derek didn't even bother going to bed that night, he knew he wouldn't be able to so much as close his eyes without his other senses becoming too powerful for him. It was like... Like seeing kept his senses in balance, even though they balanced themselves out even if his eyes _weren't _open. But why?

The wolf stripped from his clothes and stepped under the steaming hot water. It stung his skin at first since it was so cold in the loft- so cold his fingers were almost numb- but he quickly grew accustomed to the temperature.

He wanted sleep. He wanted it badly.

But every time he tried to so much as rest his eyes- something he found himself doing often from constantly feeling exhausted- he saw memories, some old, some as fresh as from the previous night. They all poured into his mind, and all of them seemed to bring immense guilt and anger... He hated it. He hated the fact that _this _was him. _This _was all he could do with himself.

If he wasn't with Florence, that is.

But he knew he didn't deserve her. He was lucky to even talk to her. Florence was undoubtably beautiful, but that's not what made him feel as if he was doing the wrong thing when he was with her. He knew that eventually, she would find everything out. She would know that he killed his own family, she would know that he killed his unlce out of anger and the need to quench his thirst for revenge. She would know what he's capable of. She would know that he _is _a killer. She would know that he cheated on her best friend. How would it look when she found out that he and Kory know each other? How would she be able to deal with all of the _lying_?

Florence was a girl with high morals. She never smoke, never drank. Hell, she'd only _just _had sex for the first time, so of course she was honest. The biggest lie she ever told was, "I'm fine."

So now, two years later, he had lie after lie stacking up. It seemed like he was just writing them all down on small clippings of paper, then throwing them into the trashcan. But one day, they were going to overflow... She would notice the loose papers on the floor, and she would pick them up and read them. Probably when she's all alone, maybe with Kory. Kory. _Kory. _

He couldn't help but feel rising anger at the thought of her. Yeah, he felt terrible about what he did to her, but he got the feeling that she would be the reason that Florence figured everything out. He didn't know what that woman's intentions were. He didn't know if she hated him, if she planned on telling her best friend everything that she knew, or if she somehow still loved him and was willing to lie with him. But really? This girl loved Florence. He could see it in the way they hugged each other, like they were just so close. What did Florence say? "Three years?" So they hadn't seen each other in three years and they were still that close... There was no way in Hell Kory would lie for the man who basically ripped her heart to shreds.

Derek lathered his hair with shampoo, the classic masculine scent filling his nostrils as a very miniscule amount of tension in his head released. He'd always found a very hot shower as a way to get rid of some stress. It was as if he was able to wash away his troubles, even if it was by very, _very _little. But sometimes, even the smallest amount of release was good for him.

His mind kept on wandering back to the night before last. He remembered all of it. He remembered what it felt like to run his hands over her sweat-slicked body... What it felt like to have her walls tighten around him. He wanted more of it. He wanted to smell her fluids and her sweat again, he wanted to hold her down an-

_Stop! It's bad enought that you stole her fucking virginity while she was drunk! Now you want it __again__?! _Derek growled at himself in disgust. She wasn't a toy. She wasn't something to be thought of that way... Even though he had been thinking about that for months, the only things holding him back being the self-control he had learned with age, as well as her pure innocense. But now, that innocense was gone, taken by him, and the longer he held himself back, the longer it was to control the hungry desires.

He never told her about the girl he spent the night with about three months after they met. What was her name? Beth? Something like that... _Wow. You can't even remember her name. _

"You sure are a fine individual, Derek," he grunted as he rinsed the shampoo from his hair. The frothy suds streamed down his body and poured into the drain... If only he could simply wash his worries and problems off of his body. But, of course, the universe seemed to have something against him. Meeting Leonardo da Vinci himself, alive and well was more realistic than what he was wishing for.

The wolf lifted his chin, allowing the water to pour down his neck to rinse off the rest of the soap suds. It felt so good to have the hot liquid on his neck... If only he could have Florence's soft, warm tongue licking his skin... He mentally punched himself in the face.

Even after all of this worrying about her, after all the guilt and anger directed toward himself for allowing her to fall in love with someone that she didn't even know, he was _still_ fantasizing about her.

He could hear Laura's voice in the back of his head. He could hear his older sister scolding him for being so careless with a girl. Why? Because he'd been given lectures by her countless times. She was constantly telling him to not treat girls as toys. To not use them as a way to get something that he wanted, then to just tell them straight up that he didn't care about them. Which led him back to the girl... Beth... That he got into bed with several months prior.

He remembered telling her that it was just a one-time-thing. That he didn't have any feelings for her at all. He remembered seeing that hurt look on her face, even though he hadn't even spent much time at all building up a relationship with her. It was a week or two, tops. But still... She thought that maybe this guy cared for her... Nah. He just wanted to get into her pants. It was obvious, what with the way he didn't even sugar coat his way of saying, "You mean absolutely nothing to me and I want you out of my loft within the next ten minutes."

_Heartless bastard..._

Needless to say, that was the last time he did something like that. That night, he dreamt of Laura screaming at him, telling him that he was becoming a horrible man. Becoming? But wasn't the deal sealed? He knew that he was nothing even close to good. He couldn't find any part of him that was moral. That is... Till he _really _got to know Florence.

It didn't take much time at all. Maybe four, five months to understand how she thinks, how she feels. It changed him.

Derek didn't get it at all. One day, he was nothing more than lustful man who used women and could only think, only _feel_ pure rage and hatred. But on just another day, when he sat on the spiral staircase of his loft after dropping Florence off from the coffeeshop that had become their number one place to meet, he pondered what she was to him for what seemed like an eternity. He found foreign thoughts in his head, things like, _I love her... She's the sweetest girl I've ever met... I want to protect her..._ But when the hell did he start caring? When did he ever consider another person's feelings? Oh, that's right. When he met his mate.

_My mate... She's my fucking mate, _he turned off the water and shook out his hair with his fingers, _and she doesn't even know it. Oh well. She doesn't need to know that._ He had walked across the washroom to the counter where he picked up a towel and wrapped it around his hips. He was about to walk out of the room to get some clothes, but he stopped himself. _Again. I'm deciding she doesn't need to know something..._ Derek exhaled in anger and shook his head, finally walking out of the washroom, having to focus on not slipping on the cold tile.

When he stepped into the hallway, it was as if he had stepped out of a warm house on a chilly day. The air around him was cold on his steaming skin, but it felt good to him. He took in a deep breath, feeling the cold air in his mouth and trachea.

Derek made his way out of the hallway and across the main section of the loft to the clothing cabinets. He pulled out some black boxer briefs, along with very dark jeans, and threw the towel onto the table, next to Florence's torn clothes and bra... He really had no idea what to do with them.

He could almost hear Florence telling him to bring some more color into his wardrobe. He allowed a ghost of a smile to play at his lips.

The wolf pulled on the boxers and was just about to put on his pants, but he stopped dead when he heard the heavy metal door being pulled open. Derek's head snapped up, only to see... Kory.

He instantly scowled. "What the hell are you doing here?"

"You don't have to be so hostile..." She said as she stepped inside and pulled the door to the side to close it.

Derek rolled his eyes. "That doesn't answer my question." 

"Huh. That's funny because that's what I came here for. Answers. Now," she looked him up and down, trying not to stare too much, as she walked across the loft in his direction. She stopped when she was about ten feet away from him, "you're going to put on your pants and explain."

His jaw visibly clenched and his grip on the jeans tightened, but he obeyed after a brief moment of glaring her down. "You're still as bold as you've always been," he said as he dressed his lower half.

"And you're still a dick as you've always been." Kory crossed her arms.

"Look, I'm not in the mood to deal with yo-"

"I don't give a damn! What are you doing, Derek?"

"What are you talking about?" He wasn't feigning innocense. He just really didn't know what she was speaking of.

"Florence is so madly in love with you, yet all you haven't told her a damn bit of the truth. She knows absolutely nothing about you besides your name and where you live!" she exclaimed. Kory had to admit that she loved Derek, really, even after everything, but she couldn't allow him to do the same thing to her best friend. Just the thought pissed her off.._._ "She deserves more than this."

"You think I don't know that?!" he growled, curling his fingers.

"Obviously you don't! If you did, you would have to-"

"Told her what? That I cheated on girls, used women, uh _killed my family and my first love?!_ What the hell will that do?!"

"It'll show her that you trust her. It'll be you being honest! But then you always were a liar, weren't you, Derek?!" Tears began accumulating in the blond's eyes. "You lied to me! You lied when you said you cared about me!"

"Kory, I already told you that I don't care about any of that." Hm. Another huge lie rolling off of his tongue.

"I know! All you care about is your damned self! You're selfish and destructive! Now all you're doing is damaging Flo-" she didn't have the strength to finish her scentance. Derek had grabbed her by her neck and slammed her into the wall next to the spiral staircase, completely knocking the wind out of her small body.

"Listen to me. You don't know a _thing _about my relationship with Florence," he tightened his grip on her neck a little and leaned his face down close to hers, so close that she could feel his breath on her cheeks as she tried to regain hers. "You don't know how I feel about her. You don't know that I practically saved her from Kyle."

"Yeah," she grunted, "I do."

Derek's eyes darkened even more than they already were. "What do you know about him?"

"He hit her. You got her to leave him," she was able to breathe, but not as much as she liked to. "Woop-dee-doo. That's all you've done for her."

"He raped her. He fucking _raped _her!," her eyes widened at his statement. "I made sure she never saw him again! I protected her!"

A thought bubbled into Kory's mind. With the few seconds it took her to consider what she was thinking, she debated whether she should say it or not. She knew it was a stupid thing to say when she was in her position, but she couldn't hold herself back. "It's not like what you did was any different."

His anger in his eyes only multiplied. "What the fuck are you talking about?"

He knew what she meant. He knew it was true. He just didn't want to face it.

"I could smell the alcohol on her. Florence is so light, she'd get drunk so easily." _Stop talking, Kory. He's gonna kill you! _"You had sex with her while she was drunk." _Stop... _"You stole her viginity while she was dru-"

She was cut off by the larger wolf tightening his grip on her neck immensely, his claws digging into her flesh. Kory clamped her eyes shut at the pain. "D- Der- I c-can't... B-" she couldn't even form the words. She felt as if her trachea was being crushed.

"I know what I did. You don't need to fucking remind me. You are _not _Laura. You are _not _my family. You _are _not my_ friend. You are absolutely nothing to me_. So don't even bother trying to make me feel even worse about something when I won't even think taking your words into consideration." Ha. What a lie. Although it didn't occur to him, he would only hear this woman's voice screaming at him for the next several months.

Thick swells of tears were on the rims of Kory's eyes, and she was squirming in his grip, desperately trying to break free. He kept her right where she was, however, since he was so much stronger than she was.

A long moment passed. Her eyes felt heavier and her lips tingled, everything seemed slower. She really thought she was going to die... With a fierce growl, he released her neck and allowed her to fall to the floor. He would have taken a small step back to put some much-needed distance between himself and this woman that he had suddenly grown to hate- or maybe it was just the memories and guilt that came with her that he hated. Either way, he didn't to be anywhere near her- but he didn't. The wolf inside him ordered him not to back down, to prove that he was not going to cower beneath her words. No. He was going to stand high above her, show her that he was not going to be challenged in his own loft by an _omega._

Kory coughed several times before she was able to breathe. Her throat ached immensely, but she slowly looked up at him. When she met his eyes, they were glowing a brutal red.

Her eyes widened.

_He's an Alpha. _

An Alpha that was breathing heavily in anger, his fists clenched despite the claws that deeply penetrated his skin. Blood gushed out of his palms and fell to the floor.

_What is he... Pain keeps you human... What is he doing?_

"Derek... Please, listen to me," she pleaded, her voice course and ragged.

_He's keeping himself in control._

"I'm not listening to you. I don't know what it is you want, Kory, but you're not sticking around long enough for me to find out."

She fought to catch her breath. Within a moment, she was able to speak properly, although her voice was still course. However, it evened out as she spoke. "I just want to know why."

"Why what?"

"Why won't you tell her anything? She's a strong girl, she can handle it." 

"Ha!" Derek's claws had retracted and his eyes faded, but the powerful scent of his body... It was still clouding her. It kept her under him. "You seriously think she can handle this?"

Kory had been afraid of Alphas before. She was afraid of the one that bit her when she was about twelve, thirteen years old. Alex. She hated that name. He tried to force her into his pack, but he was stopped and she was saved by Richard and Talia Hale, Derek's father and mother. At first, Derek was grateful his parents had managed to save this girl. She would make a great wolf- or so he thought. It wasn't long till he realized this girl had a major crush on him... He ignored it. But when Paige died and he _needed _to feel love again, he came to her.

Then Kate Argent showed up.

Everything went to Hell.

But she had never been _so _afraid of an Alpha like she was afraid of Derek. That power that was always carried in his scent seemed to be bursting now that he was standing over her in pure anger. _It terrified her._

"Well?" Derek asked with a tilt of his head.

"Wh-what?"

"I asked if you really thought Florence could handle the truth," he stated, clear irritation in his voice.

She nodded slowly. "Yes."

"You're wrong, then. She's too fragile. Too delicate."

"You don't know that," Kory said as she stood from her knees to her feet. Her hands and legs were shaking, but she managed to keep her balance. She wanted to be higher, to show Derek that she wasn't afraid of him- even though she was much shorter than he was. And she was terrified of him.

"I know her better than you do," he stated, squaring his broad shoulders ever so slightly.

"That's not true. I'm her best friend!" 

"And I'm her significant other. I've been here for two years. You've been gone for three."

"So?! That doesn't mean anything!"

"People change." He was no longer breathing heavily, but he was still angry... He only shoved his anger back into the jar he kept in his chest and put a lid on it. It was something that took a lot of practice, but he managed.

Kory looked him up and down, taking a moment to respond. "Yeah... They do."

He scoffed and took a few steps back then turned to walk to the center of the room, only to turn to her again. "It's natural."

"This is not natural, Derek... What you're doing to her is wrong."

"I'm protecting her from something I know she can't take. How is that wrong?!"

"She trusts you! She trusts you more than anyone in this world, despite the fact that she knows next to nothing about you! She doesn't know what she's gotten into. She doesn't know who she's with. She doesn't know _anything!_"

"She knows what I am," he groweld, "so you can't say she doesn't know anything."

"What?!" Kory's eyes widened at what he said.

"She knows I'm a werewolf."

"You told her _that _but you didn't bother to tell her about your family?!" she questioned incredulously.

"Why the fuck does she need to know about my family?! Huh?! What good will that do?!" The jar was really getting hard to keep closed.

"It's not that it'll do any good. It's just that if she's going to be with you, she needs to know who you are! That includes your past."

"I thought a person's past doesn't define who they are," he retorted coldly. He knew that it wasn't true. He just needed something, anything to counter her.

"That's what people who are trying to outrun their pasts tell themselves," she crossed her arms, once again trying to show him that she wasn't afraid to argue. She took a few steps forward. "You're one of those people, aren't you, Derek?"

"I am not running from my past."

"Yes, you are. And you're failing miserably."

Another step closer. Eight feet away. Gentle approach... Maybe she could get through to him that way. Help him... Help herself.

"Shut the hell up."

Six feet.

"How long have you been trying to escape?"

Four feet.

"I said to shut up," his voice was dark and heavy.

"How long has it been? About eight years now?"

Three feet away. She could hear his heart pounding in his chest, and he could hear hers.

"God damn it, Kory! Shut your mouth!" he ordered.

It took all of her self-control not to react to the anger or hostility that had rushed through his voice. "No. You _are _running, Derek, and I hate seeing you do it."

"Why the fuck do you care?!" he seethed.

"Because..." Gentle approach. "I just do."

Two feet. She could almost feel the anger, as well as confusion, radiating from him.

"You're lying! You don't care!"

"I do care."

One foot away. He didn't back down... He held his ground.

"No. I don't know what you want with me, but whatever it is, you're not getting it. Now leave!"

"I'm not going to say I don't want anything, because that wouldn't exactly be true. But, Derek, it's not for me."

He scowled more than he already was. "You expect me to believe that someone is coming to me, telling me that they want to help someone else without even benefiting themselves? Sorry, but I don't buy it."

"I'm a woman wanting to help her best friend. There's nothing unbelievable about that." Kory's vocie was quiet and soft, the exact opposite of how it was when she first showed up. But, she soon realized that if she wanted to be able to talk to Derek without being thrown into a wall again, she would have to stay calm.

"Yeah, and I'm the guy who betrayed you. You're a wolf. You can't tell me you don't want revenge."

"But the truth is, I really _don't _want it. I'm not like-"

"Me?"

"Well, yes. I don't want revenge..." Her voice dropped and she looked to the floor. "Especially revenge on someone that I care about."

"Stop saying that."

"Really, Derek..." She looked up at him and met his eyes. "Why is it so hard to believe that I care about you?"

"Because I hurt you. That's how things work. People get hurt, and they want revenge or blood for it. At the very least, they forget about loving that person."

Kory didn't even have to listen to his heartbeat to know that he was thoroughly convinced of what he was speaking of. "You really believe that."

"Damn right I do. It's all I've ever seen. That, 'I'll love you no matter what,' bullshit- it's all fake."

"If Florence were to do something, something that hurt you immensely, would you hate her?"

"Yes." No.

"I know that's a lie, Derek. You love her. I can see that."

He exhaled in pure irritation through his nostrils. "Then why did you even ask?"

"I wanted to prove a point. Love is unconditional. It doesn't just leave because someone hurt you."

Derek stared down at her, wishing he could understand her mindset. How the hell could she be so caring for him, even after being destroyed by him? He saw the tears pouring down her eyes and the way she shook. He heard her heart shattering in her voice. "How are you able to say this to me?"

"Because I forgive you..." she gently cupped his cheek with her hand, but he grabbed her wrist and pulled it down.

"Do not touch me."

It burned in her eyes. Pain.

"Alright. I'm sorry."

He let go of her wrist and walked toward the stairs. "And leave me alone."

"Derek, wait."

He ignored her.

"Derek, please, wait!"

With a growl, he turned to look at her as he placed a foot on the bottom step of the staircase. "What do you not understand about, 'leave me alone?'"

"I just wanted to tell you... Be honest with Florence. You can't keep her in the dark forever. Tell her everything. It's better if it comes from you... But if you don't, I-"

Within miliseconds, Derek was right in front of her, glaring down at her. "If you say _anything _to her, I swear to God I will rip your heart out of your chest."

Fear rattled through her entire body and she swallowed, her voice shaky. "B- but... She needs to know things. She deserves to."

"You may think this will help her, but it won't. It will _destroy _her. She can't even watch a documentary on the Holocaust without bawling. How do you think she'll react when she finds out someone she is so close to has such a fucked up past and life?"

Kory could only stare up at him, tears threatening to break from her shining blue eyes.

"You can't even answer that. You know it'll break her."

"Sh- she'll be fine..."

"Like hell she will. Now I'm going to tell you one..." he gently stroked her neck with the backs of his fingers, brushing over the bruises that had already begun to form from his grip. His touch was soft, but his tone was darker than she had ever heard from him, "More..." he looked at her neck then into her eyes, "Time. If you tell Florence anything," a claw extended and lightly scraped down her skin, "I will not even _hesitate_ to kill you."

Her skin tingled from the sensation, but she refrained from pulling away from him. She knew doing even that was a suicidal move.

"Got it?"

The smaller wolf swallowed and nodded ever-so-slightly. She kept her eyes locked on his, even though it made her heart pound in her chest. The intensity that was held in his bright green, gold-flecked eyes bore into her, staring her down completely. It felt as if he was staring right into her soul, flooding her with the cold venom of fear as if he were a snake biting her.

"Yeah," her voice was nothing more than a squeak. "I get it."

_How pathetic._

Derek glared at her for a while longer before he finally muttered, "Now get out."

That was all it took for her to run out the door.

Wouldn't be the first time she's done that.

**Well this hurt me ;-; **


End file.
